Warritalia: Dark Prophecies
by Syncfeather
Summary: Nekotalia story in Warriors style! Will follow the story of Vinekit and Tomatokit, the youngest kits in AxisClan. A dark prophecy threatens the life of every cat, however not even StarClan knows what that danger is. Will the Clans be forever lost in darkness? Or will they be able to find back to the path of light? Rated M for violence, blood, death, language, gore.
1. Allegiances

**AN: **Yay, a new fanfic! I know I have to continue _Don't Leave Me_, but this was so tempting! Hetalia + Warriors is a good combination and since most of my interest in Kuroshitsuji is lost, one of the reasons why I set the Kuroshitsuji/Warriors crossover on hiatus, I decided to write a Hetalia/Warriors crossover. The fourth chapter of _Don't Leave Me_ will come out either on the 14th or 15th November!

I've been inspired by BeyondLawlietL's Warriors Nekotalia fanfiction, which is really awesome!

There'll be some genderbendering in this fan fiction, but I hope you guys don't have any problems with that~ I'll be using three POVs in this story. The POV of Tomatokit, Vinekit and Maplewhisper, maybe there'll be a chapter where I'll be using someone else's POV.

As for the character designs, I used most of the Nekotalia designs as a reference. The names are not the best maybe, but they were the first thing that came into my mind~

The relations between the cats... There will be several pairings. As for Dawnpelt and Snowpaw, I want a relation like Dustpelt and Fernpaw, Dawnpelt being the mentor of her brother, but only having eyes for her and all, but Snowpaw isn't as open as Fernpaw, but rather keeping more to herself, their relationship won't be as perfect as Dustpelt and Fernpaw's. Nightstar and Vinekit (don't know about her warrior name yet) will later have a troublesome relation, I'm looking forward to writing about that. I didn't know about any other she-cat than Sorrelheart currently having kits, that's the reason why she's the mother of Tomatokit and Vinekit. Originally I had planned that Brightsong would be Vinekit's mentor, but then I remembered that kits could not be mentored by their parents D: Maplewhisper will also be an important part of the story, she will face problems and troubles which only a few medicine cats before had encountered. Not sure if she's going to have a mate or kits later. And I also wanted Ravenwing and Mudstep to be mates at first, but surely Ravenwing will stick to the medicine cat code. Won't she? Who knows ;) I'm also looking forward to writing the parts about Smoketail and Finstream, that will be lots of fun!

Well, after this long AN, enjoy the story!

* * *

**ALLEGIANCES**

**AxisClan**

Leader:

**Nightstar** – dark gray tom with piercing blue eyes [Germany]

Deputy:

**Frostclaw **– snow white tom with crimson red eyes and a scar over his right eye [Prussia]

Medicine Cat:

**Ravenwing** – small black she-cat with a white bobtail and white paws, dull amber eyes [Japan]

Warriors:

**Dawnpelt** – long-furred, cream and white tom with blue eyes [Denmark]; Apprentice, Icepaw

**Smoketail** – black tom with dark blue eyes [Sweden]

**Finstream** – light brown and white she-cat with a striped tail, amber eyes [Finland]; Apprentice, Snowpaw

**Sandmask **– brown tom with amber eyes [Turkey]

**Brightsong **– dark blue-gray tom with a white face, white paws and a white chest, violet eyes [Austria]

**Passionpool **– white tom with pale brown patches, green eyes [Spain]

**Mudstep** – dark brown and white tom with green eyes [Greece]

**Sunblaze** – tortoiseshell tom with green eyes [Egypt]

**Mousefoot** - dark brown tabby she-cat with black paws and blue eyes [Bulgaria]

**Batfang** – dark ginger tom with red eyes [Romania]

Queens:

**Sorrelheart** – brown and white she-cat with green eyes [Hungary]; with Brightsong's kits: **Vinekit** [Italy] and **Tomatokit** [Romano] – identical cream-and-brown she-kits with amber eyes

Apprentices:

**Icepaw – **white tom with a brown splotch over his right eye, violet eyes [Iceland]

**Snowpaw** – long-furred, white she-cat with unusual blue eyes [Norway]

* * *

**AlliesClan**

Leader:

**Eaglestar** – white tom-cat with black fur around his neck like a mane, blue eyes [America]

Deputy:

**Bearclaw** – long furred, dark brown tom with a white chest and white hind paws, violet eyes [Russia]

Medicine Cat:

**Maplewhisper** – white she-cat with violet eyes [Canada]

Warriors:

**Dappletail** – light brown and white she-cat with blue eyes [Ukraine]; Apprentice, Smallpaw

**Firetail** – white Scottish fold she-cat with ginger patches and a ginger tail, green eyes [England]

**Rosewhisker** – long furred, cream tom with blue eyes [France]

**Mooncloud** – slender, black she-cat with amber eyes [China]

**Brackenfang** – brown tom with a white tail tip and white neck, green eyes [Lithuania]; Apprentice, Shadepaw

**Dimstorm** – black-and-white tom with green eyes [Estonia]

**Icyshimmer** – white she-cat with dark brown fur around her neck, violet eyes [Belarus]

**Creamspark** – cream she-cat with a darker face, darker paws, darker ears and a darker tail tip, amber eyes [Hong Kong]

**Brownstrike** - dark brown tom with white chest and underbelly, amber eyes [Cuba]

Queens:

**Ponystep** – light gray she-cat with green eyes [Poland]; expecting Brackenfang's kits

Apprentices:

**Shadepaw** – black-and-white tom with amber eyes [Korea]

**Smallpaw** – white she-cat with black ear tips, black tail tip and amber eyes [Taiwan]

* * *

**StarClan**

**Astralsky** – black she-cat with a graying muzzle, blue eyes [Mama Asia]

**Romeleaf** – light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes [Rome]

**Teutonheart **– golden tom with dark gray tabby stripes and green eyes [Germania]

**Desertflower** – sandy colored she-cat with amber eyes [Mama Egypt]

**Southriver** – tortoiseshell she-cat with golden eyes [Mama Greece]


	2. Prologue

Well, here's the prologue! It's a bit short, but oh well! The next chapters will be longer ;3

Enjoy!

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

A full moon hung in the air and cast long shadows across the clearing. The leaves of the trees rustled in the warm breeze, creating a beautiful melody, and the nearby river murmured quietly. The sky was filled with thousands of stars, tiny white specks in the vast colossal sky. A few cats were gathered in the clearing, crouching in the shadow of the trees, gathering around a small pool in which the stars reflected.

"Is this really how it should go on?" A black she-cat asked, her blue eyes filled with worry.

A heavy silence hung in the air and it was only broken by a golden tom after many heartbeats. "I don't think, either, that this is the best way, but we shouldn't interfere, Astralsky."

The golden tom's mate, a beautiful light brown tabby she-cat, looked at him thoughtfully. "Teutonheart, it is our duty. The Clans could be destroyed forever. Surely this isn't what StarClan wants, is it?"

"Romeleaf, StarClan is a guidance. We guide the Clans, but we do not control them and we do not interfere with their decisions." He replied, the sharp undertone in his voice could still be heard, even though he did his best to hide it. Romeleaf though seemed to ignore it.

A sandy colored she-cat rose to her paws. "The Clans are facing their darkest hour. If we let them wander around on the path they are walking right now, then they will be lost forever in that darkness and we will have to watch their destruction, knowing we could have prevented that and changed the future of the Clans."

Neither of them spoke as her words rang out into the air. They weighed heavily and all of them knew that the Clans were in immediate danger. Neither of them could speak, the words choking them as though they were a noose.

"Will we send a sign to the medicine cats?" A tortoiseshell she-cat asked, slowly eying the other cats. "As Desertflower said, the Clans are facing their darkest hour and they will need our guidance."

"It might be the only way, Southriver. They need to know that they have to be careful now."

"Or otherwise, everything will be lost." Teutonheart muttered, closing his eyes. A heavy sigh followed.

More and more cats began to gather around them, remaining silent however, their eyes filled with worry and grief. If the Clans weren't careful now, they would forever fall into a deep hole in the earth and would never be able to escape it again. Each of the starry warriors knew that, but they also knew that they couldn't change anything, whether it would be good or bad. They were forced to watch and all they could do was warn the Clans. But not even they knew what exactly was waiting at the end of that path, what horror the Clans would have to face if they failed. All they could do was hope that the path the Clans wandered would not be the path of darkness.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

To be honest, I do not have any idea what exactly that danger will be, I still have to think about it xD

Hope you liked it! Reviews are very welcome~

Hasta la pasta!


	3. Chapter One

"Frostclaw, stop that at once!"

Vinekit turned her head to see her father Brightsong crouching a fox length away from them, sharing tongues with her mother Sorrelheart, clearly looking unhappy.

"I don't want them to learn fighting moves already!" He scolded the white warrior Frostclaw, who was playing with her and her sister Tomatokit. Vinekit really liked him, he always spent a lot of time with them, playing with them, teaching them the hunter's crouch and fighting moves! Right now he let them catch his tail tip.

"Aw, come on! They can't learn them too early! They'll be out of the nursery before you can say 'Awesome', so they need to have some basic knowledge! And they want to learn them, so don't overreact, Brightsong!" Frostclaw meowed with a grin, but slightly frowned when Tomatokit bit down on his tail.

"They're three moons old, for StarClan's sake!" Brightsong replied.

Sorrelheart chuckled and gently flicked his ear. "They'll be fine. And don't worry, I keep an eye on Frostclaw." She meowed with an affectionate glance at her daughters and then quickly glanced at Frostclaw, who then flinched as she bared her teeth.

"I'll be careful!" He defensed himself.

Vinekit sat down and gave her cream-colored chest fur a few licks, before jumping on Tomatokit's back. Her sister let out a surprised yelp and the two kits rolled around, gently battering each other with sheathed claws, however Vinekit noticed that Tomatokit was slightly distracted, her blows less powerful than usual. She had Tomatokit pinned down, ignoring her hind legs softly kicking against her belly, didn't let go of her.

"Get off me, you're heavy!" She complained, trying to get her sister to let go of her. She stared at Tomatokit for a heartbeat, her amber eyes gleaming, before getting off her. Tomatokit shook the dust out of her fur.

"You two really are blessed. They'll be great warriors when they're older." Frostclaw remarked.

Sorrelheart gave him a long glance. "You could have kits of your own, you're not that old yet."

But the white warrior only let out a long sigh. "I don't want any." He glanced at his paws, before getting up and walking toward Nightstar, who was listening to Passionpool's report.

"Come on, Tomatokit! Let's see if we can find something tasty on the fresh-kill pile!" Vinekit meowed, but when she glanced t her sister she realized that Tomatokit had already dozed off. "Wake up, sleepy head!" But Tomatokit only rolled onto her other side, muttering something under her breath. _Oh well, let her sleep then._

The sun cast its red light through the canopy as it was slowly setting. The first StarClan warriors began to appear and Vinekit asked herself if her grandmother Romeleaf was among them.

While the tiny she-kit was on her way to the fresh-kill pile, she caught a glance of Smoketail talking to Finstream, who looked very small compared to him and she looked a bit uneasy. Vinekit couldn't catch any words, though.

When she had arrived at the fresh-kill pile, she noticed the two apprentices Snowpaw and Icepaw arguing over the remaining pieces of fresh-kill.

"Come on, Snowpaw! You had a carp yesterday already and the day before and the day before that as well!" Icepaw meowed.

"You know I don't really like mice or anything like that! I prefer fish!" Snowpaw argued.

"It's not good for you if you only eat fish and nothing else! What will you do if there's no fish anymore?"

The white she-cat barely held back a hiss. "Don't tell me what to do!"

Icepaw looked as though he was about to reply, when Dawnpelt trotted over to them with a huge carp in his jaws.

"Stop fighting, you two!" He scolded the apprentices and dropped the carp, which was probably the biggest one Vinekit had ever seen, in front of Snowpaw's paws. "Help yourself." Dawnpelt purred.

"Thank you." Snowpaw quickly muttered before happily padding over to the apprentices' den with the carp in her jaws. Icepaw looked after her, his muzzle opened, and snorted before taking a vole and followed his litter mate. Dawnpelt watched the two of them for a moment with an amused grin, then took a scrawny squirrel and brought it to the middle of the clearing to eat together with Nightstar, Frostclaw, Passionpool and Ravenwing who were already eating.

Vinekit took a sparrow and padded over to the nursery, where she settled down to engulf the sparrow with a few hungry bites.

Suddenly the ferns in front of the gorse tunnel rustled and a she-cat with a fluffy pelt stepped out of the tunnel, her violet eyes filled with unease and her thick, white pelt ruffled, although Vinekit could see her rips sticking out like branches.

"Maplewhisper! What are you doing here?" Frostclaw sprang to his paws, his red eyes widened in alarm.

"It's bad... greencough... outbreak in our Clan! So many... cats are sick... have no catmint left..." She explained while trying to catch her breath. Cats began gathering around her and Ravenwing immediately sprang to her paws and raced to her. She sniffed at Maplewhisper. "Please, Ravenwing. I need your help! Do you have any catmint left? One of the sick cats is the expecting queen Ponystep. One of the worst, although she is not my biggest worry. Eaglestar won't leave me alone for a single heartbeat! His mate Firetail is sick, as well, the worst one I've ever seen. She is only a whisker away from joining StarClan, and I don't want to lose her, I couldn't stand seeing my brother heartbroken! Please, Ravenwing! AlliesClan might be wiped out by this outbreak of greencough! I beg you!"

Ravenwing and Nightstar exchanged a long glance.

"We cannot let them die, even though they're our enemies." The dark gray tom said after a while.

"And we have more than enough catmint, so that we'll still have plenty, even if we share with them." Ravenwing added and motioned with her tail to Maplewhisper to follow her into the medicine den. Maplewhisper sighed, relieve filled her eyes.

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

After a moment the two she-cats reappeared again, both carrying much of the deliciously smelling plant. Ravenwing laid down the catmint she was carrying. "Nightstar, this is too much for her to carry alone. May I go along to bring it to her camp? I'll be back before moon high."

"All right, but be careful not to get sick as well. The last thing we need now is greencough." Nightstar meowed.

Ravenwing dipped her head and after Maplewhisper thanked them again, they left.

An icy leaf-bare breeze ruffled Vinekit's fur and she began to freeze.

"Get back into the nursery, dear, or you'll catch a cold." Sorrelheart shooed her into the warm den. Tomatokit was already sleeping, a bit uneasy though it seemed, as she thrashed around in her nest.

_She must be having a nightmare._ Vinekit guessed and laid down in the nest as well, closing her eyes and yawning. She waited for sleep to pull her into a deep embrace, but somehow sleep wouldn't come. It was cold and Tomatokit's constant sneezing and coughing was keeping her awake. But when she poked her sister, she didn't react, only kept wheezing and quietly whimpering. With a pang Vinekit noticed that her eyes and nose were streaming and heat radiated her body. "Tomatokit?" The she-kit's eyes were teary as she whispered her sister's name. Alarmed she sprang to her paws. "Sorrelheart! Brightsong! Something is wrong with Tomatokit!" She wailed. Immediately her parents raced into the nursery. Sorrelheart let out a wail as she hurried over to her daughter's side.

"It's greencough! Tomatokit has greencough!"

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Here's chapter one~ Somehow writing this fan fiction is really fun and it's getting along quite well. I don't know how long this fanfic will be or what exactly will happen later, so it's still a surprise, even for me!

Well, Dawnpelt is already doing his best to get close to Snowpaw, but she doesn't really answer his attempts. Let's see how their relationship will develop ;D Maybe I'll add a chapter with the POV of either Snowpaw or Dawnpelt.

Reviews are very welcome~

Hasta la pasta!


	4. Chapter Two

Maplewhisper ran through the forest, the precious catmint between her jaws. She needed to hurry or else all the sick cats would die! Especially Firetail. The white she-cat had made her worry to the extreme, she was close to joining StarClan, Maplewhisper knew that, but she didn't want to admit defeat. The she-cat would survive and get better as soon as she got some of the catnip. She also knew how heartbroken her brother would be. They had had a troublesome past, but Eaglestar loved her more than his own life. Firetail would survive, Maplewhisper would make sure she did.

"Have you had some... strange messages from StarClan lately?" Ravenwing asked all of a sudden.

Maplewhisper froze. It was true. The former AlliesClan queen Astralsky had come to visit her in a dream and had brought her a fearsome prophecy, but how could Ravenwing possibly know?

_Or maybe AxisClan has received the same prophecy?_ Maplewhisper wondered. "Yes, I have. Astralsky came to visit me. She told me... the Clans would be facing their darkest hour..." Her voice trailed off and Ravenwing stared at her, anxiety filled her eyes, and she drew in a sharp breath.

"So you have received the same message." The black she-cat muttered.

An awkward silence filled the air as the two medicine cats raced through the forest toward the camp of AlliesClan. Maplewhisper noticed with a pang that the forest was still as silent as it could possibly be. Not a single trace of bird or mouse or anything else. If that kept on, they would starve. Life was always hard during leaf-bare, but that was most likely the worst leaf-bare they had ever encountered. A fire, about four moons ago, had destroyed most of the territory, but fortunately the camp had been rebuilt and they were able to live there again, but it took some time for the prey to come back. Snow came early that year, but fortunately there wasn't any snow right now. It had stopped snowing some days ago and most of the snow had already melted.

Finally they arrived at the thorn barrier which marked the entrance of the camp. Maplewhisper walked through the tunnel, already expecting the worst. Coughing and sneezing filled the clearing, Eaglestar emerged out of the medicine den, head hanging and tail drooping, but slightly brightened when he spotted his sister with the catnip.

"Oh Maplewhisper, thank StarClan!" He raced toward her and touched noses with her. "Firetail is getting worse and worse, I don't know what to do!" He wailed like a lost kit.

"Don't worry, Eaglestar. Ravenwing gave me some catnip, I will save her!" With that the she-cat darted off, followed by Ravenwing, toward the medicine den. Her stomach lurched when she spotted the white-and-ginger she-cat laying in her nest. Maplewhisper could feel the heat radiating from her body even at the entrance of the den and she noticed that the she-cat was barely breathing anymore. Across from her was Smallpaw, the apprentice had become sick two days ago, but she didn't seem as bad as the others. _For the moment._ She thought bitterly and laid down the catnip.

"Do you need any help? There are so many sick cats, you can't possibly do that all on your own." Ravenwing suggested.

Maplewhisper blinked warmly at her. "That would be great, Ravenwing. Could you bring some of the catnip to Ponystep?" She gestured to the light gray she-cat at the end of the den. Right now she needed to take care of Firetail. She had to do anything she could, so she took some of the catnip and padded over to the white she-cat. "Firetail, I brought you some catnip. I want you to eat as much as you can." The she-cat groaned and opened one of her green eyes. "You need to eat it, you will feel better then." Firetail obeyed and took one of the stems into her mouth and chewed on it. Her body trembled as she got another coughing fit, causing her to gag and spit out the remains of the stem. Maplewhisper swallowed. What could she do? Firetail looked as though she had no power left, but she needed to defeat that illness. _Juniper berries will help her breathing and also strengthen her. I'll better get some._

On the way to her supplies Ravenwing walked toward her, slightly shifting her paws. "I gave her some catnip and also some juniper berries, she seemed a bit weak, if it was okay. Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"You are such a help, Ravenwing!" The white she-cat meowed happily. "Could you please start checking on the other cats in my den?"

"Of course."

Maplewhisper watched her as she trotted off, but then she reminded herself to get the juniper berries for Firetail. She retrieved a couple of berries and headed back to the wheezing she-cat. "Come on, Firetail. You have to eat the catnip and the juniper berries. You will feel much better after you've eaten them." The she-cat slowly rose her head and began eating the remedies.

Eaglestar peeked into the den and slowly padded toward his sister. "How is she?" He whispered with a glance at his mate.

"She will get better, when she has eaten the catnip and the juniper berries." Maplewhisper murmured, keeping an eye on her patient.

Eaglestar crouched down and licked over his mate's cheek. "Don't worry, love, you'll be feeling better soon. And then we're going hunting together and go to your favorite place." He whispered. A soft purr rose in Firetail's throat. "You go look after the others, I'll keep an eye on her." His face was serious and she knew it was no use arguing with him when he was like that.

"All right, call me when she gets worse." Maplewhisper sniffed at her one more time before going over to Ponystep. The light gray she-cat was sleeping, although she looked a bit better already. _The catnip is working well. That's good. Ponystep is a strong cat, who always arose like a phoenix after falling. She will get over that sickness easily._ Gently she rested her paw on Ponystep's belly, swollen with the weight of unborn kits. _It won't take long. Maybe only half a moon anymore._

"Maplewhisper? Is that, like, you?" Ponystep's voice was quiet, but there was the usual enthusiastic tone in her voice again.

"Yes, it's me. How are you feeling?"

Ponystep's jaws opened in a huge yawn. "I'm, like, totally tired, but it's getting, like, better."

"That's good to hear. You try to sleep a bit."

The light gray she-cat closed her eyes and soon sank into sleep once more. Maplewhisper listened to her breathing for a moment, then padded over to Smallpaw. The apprentice looked also better than before.

"You really are a great help, Ravenwing. I cannot ask any more from you, you've already done so much for the Clan. Thank you very much." She dipped her head to the black she-cat.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm glad I can help you. I've given catnip to the other cats and also juniper to Icyshimmer. They seem to get a bit better already." She shifted her paws. "Is there anything else you need help with?"

Maplewhisper narrowed her eyes for a moment, was there anything she needed help with? Catmint had been given to the sick cats and there was still a pile of catnip stems left, so she didn't need to worry about that either. "Actually, there is nothing anymore. You already helped me so much, so maybe you now want to get back to your own clan of course."

Ravenwing shot a glance out of the den. "The moon is already so high. I'll stay until tomorrow, if I may."

"Of course. You are very welcome here, Ravenwing." Eaglestar had approached them and was dipping his head to the AxisClan medicine cat. "The whole AlliesClan is in your debt."

After checking on Firetail, Smallpaw, Ponystep, Dimstorm, Creamspark, Brownstrike, Icyshimmer, and Dappletail once more, Maplewhisper laid down in her nest and listened to the breathing of the cats, keeping her eyes open and ears pricked. She wouldn't sleep now, she had to keep an eye on the sick cats.

Paw steps resounded from outside the den and Maplewhisper rose her head to see Mooncloud poking her head into the den. "Maplewhisper? Are you awake?" She whispered and the white she-cat rose to her paws, stifling a groan, and padded over to her.

"What's the matter, Mooncloud? Are you not feeling well?"

Mooncloud smiled and averted her gaze. "N-no, I'm not sick, but I think, well, I think I might be expecting kits."

Maplewhisper stifled a yelp of delight. It was always great news, when a she-cat came to her and asked her to check if she was expecting. "Are they Bearclaw's?" Bearclaw and Mooncloud had been very close together, every cat in the Clan had already guessed that they were mates and that was really wonderful news!

"Yes, they are and I just know that Bearclaw will make a wonderful father." The she-cat purred and Maplewhisper began checking her.

"I want you to come every few days so I can check on you. You can still carry on with your duties, but make sure not to overwork yourself."

"I'll be fine. Thanks, Maplewhisper." The she-cat purred and headed out of the den to Bearclaw, who was sitting at the entrance of the camp, keeping guard. They pressed close against each other and entangled each other's tail.

Maplewhisper watched them with a pang. She was envious. Being a medicine cat was all she ever wanted, but she knew there was something missing which she could never get. A mate and kits. It was against the medicine cat code and she knew there was no way she would ever break it, but she longed for spending time with a mate and having kits of her own scramble over her body.

_No, I cannot have kits. I'm a medicine cat. I just cannot have kits, however much I might want to._ Her gaze traveled up to the sky, where thousands of StarClan warriors were looking down at her. She wondered if there were any medicine cats among them who had broken that law. Had had kits and a mate, even though they had known it was forbidden. _I don't even have a cat I fancy. I can't have kits, even if it was allowed._ She reminded herself and let out a long sigh. _It's just not meant to be._

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Poor Maplewhisper, though I have to admit, I don't know what I'm going to do with her. Whether I let her stay alone, like a proper medicine cat, or if I add some spice and let her fall in love with someone. I dunno yet, let's see how this will turn out ;D

Reviews are welcome!

Hasta la pasta~


	5. Chapter Three

Ciao everyone! Enjoy the third chapter! R&R please!

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Vinekit was staring at the nursery, worrying about Tomatokit. Brightsong had taken her out of there and was waiting with her outside, while Sorrelheart was in the nursery together with Tomatokit. Frostclaw and Nightstar were talking, while Finstream came racing out of the medicine den with catnip in her jaws and raced off toward the nursery. The she-cat was often helping Ravenwing, even though she wasn't a medicine cat.

"The sickness mustn't spread. I want every cat checked and those who show any sign of sickness must be moved to Ravenwing's den." Nightstar instructed.

"I will check on everyone, as soon as I brought Tomatokit those herbs." Finstream offered.

"Thank you. I'll leave it to you then." The dark gray tom turned his head toward the gorse tunnel. "Let's hope Ravenwing will come back soon."

"Father?" Vinekit asked, looking at Brightsong with huge amber eyes.

"Yes, dear?"

"Will Tomatokit be well again?"

Brightsong didn't answer immediately, waited a heartbeat. "I hope so." He whispered while staring at the nursery.

"She will be fine again!" The loud protest came from Passionpool who was standing just a mouse length away, his eyes filled with fear and worry. Passionpool, just like Frostclaw, often spent time with them and Vinekit really liked him.

Vinekit fluffed her fur against the cold and saw that the first warriors of StarClan were staring down at them. "Have they come tonight to take Tomatokit with them?"

Brightsong licked over her head. "Ssh, dear. They have not, Tomatokit will stay here with us." He whispered, his blue-gray fur turning silver in the moonlight.

Finstream slipped out of the nursery and began examining every cat in the Clan.

"Ya are d'ng great, Finstream." Smoketail remarked, causing the light brown she-cat to blush.

"T-thank you." Finstream murmured, while trying her best to avert his gaze and quickly hurried off to another cat. Smoketail snickered and watched her with a warm look in his eyes. Vinekit was impressed, she had never actually seen Smoketail happy or anything like that, he was rather creepy and Vinekit was very scared of him.

"How are you three feeling?" Finstream asked as she got closer to Vinekit, Brightsong and Passionpool.

"I'm fine, just worried." Brightsong answered.

"Worried but other than that, fine." Passionpool replied.

Vinekit nodded. "Me too." She answered as Finstream got closer and sniffed at her.

"No scent of illness. All right, I suppose you're all okay." She murmured and headed off again, this time she walked toward the apprentices' den where Icepaw and Snowpaw were. Icepaw sat about three tail-lengths away from the den, his bushy tail wrapped neatly around his forepaws. Snowpaw was dozing in front of the den, coughing every now and then. Finstream sniffed at her, eyes flashing with alarm. "Snowpaw?" She gently poked the she-cat, until she opened one bleary eye. "You're not feeling well, are you?" She asked worriedly. The white she-cat looked very frail suddenly, Vinekit noticed, and she was trembling. A coughing fit thrilled her body. "That doesn't look good. I'll bring you to the medicine den. Icepaw, please help me guide her toward the den." Icepaw immediately sprang to his paws to help her guide his sister to the den.

"I'm fine, I don't need any-" She broke off as another coughing fit gripped her body like sharp claws.

"Nonsense. You're ill and I'll make sure you're feeling better soon again, Snowpaw." Vinekit heard Finstream answer and at the same time she noticed Dawnpelt racing over to the medicine den.

"Snowpaw is ill?" He asked, his voice slightly quivering.

"It's not greencough yet, but I need to make sure that she can rest without getting disturbed." There was an edge in her voice, but Dawnpelt didn't seem to notice it, or maybe he was just ignoring it. He muttered something in reply, but Vinekit was too far away to catch his words. Instead something out of the corner of her eyes caught her attention.

The ginger tom Batfang was standing about a fox length away from Mousefoot, who was busy washing her flank and didn't seem to notice the tom. There was a mischievous sparkle in the ginger tom's crimson red eyes. He crouched down and slowly crept toward her, careful not to let Mousefoot know he was there. His well-trained muscles played under his short pelt. Suddenly he released all the power in his powerful hind legs and literally threw himself at Mousefoot, who yelped loudly in surprise and shook the tom off.

"Stop that, mouse-brain!" She hissed, but the tom only laughed, quickly followed by a smack on the shoulder. "It's not the time to do such mouse-brained things! Leave me alone!" The tabby stood up and disappeared in the warriors' den.

"You should sleep a bit, Vinekit." Brightsong meowed into her ear, but she shook her head.

"I'm not tired. I don't want to sleep." But a yawn escaped her lips. Brightsong grabbed her by the scruff and padded over to the elders' den.

"I'll have Teutonheart look after..." His voice trailed off and he stopped as he seemed to remember that the old tom had died just a few moons ago, shortly after Romeleaf had died. Ever since his death the elders' den had been empty. "Icepaw must be lonely, now that Snowpaw is in the medicine den. Surely you can sleep in the apprentices' den."

She brightened. She could sleep in the apprentices' den even though she was still a kit! That was great!

"Icepaw? Are you awake?" Brightsong called when he had arrived at the den. The white tom poked his head out.

"Yeah, what's the matter?"

"Since Tomatokit is ill and Sorrelheart is staying with her in the nursery, could Vinekit sleep in here with you? I don't want her to get sick as well."

Icepaw eyed the small kit and nodded.

"Ve~" The tiny kit scrambled into the den after Brightsong had put her down. There were two moss nests, the nests of Snowpaw and Icepaw, she guessed. Icepaw scraped a bit of moss together and motioned to Vinekit with his tail to come. She padded over to him.

"Here, you can sleep in there." He yawned and laid back into his own nest.

Vinekit laid down and closed her eyes. She listened to Icepaw's rhythmical breathing for a moment, before slowly sinking into sleep.

* * *

"Vinekit, wake up!" Icepaw's frightened meow echoed through the air and Vinekit opened one bleary eye to see the apprentice, his white pelt fluffed up so that he looked twice his size, standing at the entrance of the den. From outside she could hear loud noises, screeching and fighting cats. Loud paw steps resounded and Vinekit flinched when a loud roar cut through the air. She poked her head out of the den to see several large creatures with a short black-and-white pelt stomping through the camp. Nightstar and Sandmask were attacking one of them. Finstream, Passionpool and Mousefoot were doing their best to keep one away from the nursery.

"What is that?" Vinekit wailed.

"Badgers." Icepaw replied and grabbed the kit by her scruff, slowly stepping out of the den. He did his best to avoid the fighting cats and the badgers as he raced toward the nursery. Vinekit's heart pounded against her chest, felt like a bird trapped in her chest.

Suddenly the strong teeth in her scruff lost hold of her, she fell onto the hard ground with a yelp. A scream behind her made her whirl around to see a badger digging his claws into Icepaw's shoulder. Bright red blood flowed out of the wound and the white tom tried to get rid of his attacker, in vain. He yowled and the badger dug his teeth into his head. At once Sunblaze threw himself at the badger, biting into its ear and dragging the beast away from the apprentice. Mousefoot helped Sunblaze and dug his teeth into the badger's hind leg. Vinekit stared at Icepaw in shock. The apprentice was lying on his side, blood pouring out of the claw marks in his shoulder and the bite marks in his head. His eyes were closed and he was barely breathing. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Finstream rushing toward the young tom, sniffing him, but stepping back, her eyes widening in horror.

"Oh no..." She heard the she-cat mutter.

"Vinekit!" Sorrelheart's voice rang out across the clearing and she spotted her mother at the entrance of the nursery. Her tensed muscles relaxed when she spotted her daughter, running toward her. But she ran right into a badger that seemed to appear out of nowhere. It raised one giant paw and raked its claws across Sorrelheart's head. The she-cat fell onto the ground, not moving. Vinekit could hear Brightsong scream and saw her father racing over, as if his paws had wings. He jumped on the badger's back and bit into the badger's ear, raking his claws across its back. The badger turned its head and tried to snap at him, but Brightsong dodged the attack.

Suddenly Vinekit, frozen in terror, spotted Frostclaw who stood over Sorrelheart's unmoving body, his teary eyes widened in shock. The white tom ran toward the badger who was fighting with Brightsong and raked his claws over its nose, bright red blood poured out of the scratched-open nose. Vinekit wanted to move, but there was something that held her in place, that didn't allow her to move away. Like the roots of the ancient willow tree that stood at the edge of the camp.

She turned her head to see a bloody body lying in the middle of the clearing. Her belly lurched. It was Nightstar.

"He's loosing another life!" Sandmask yelled.

"How many does he have left?" Dawnpelt asked, as he scratched over a badger's eyes. But no one could answer him. No cat seemed to know how many lives the AxisClan leader had left.

After a few heartbeats the dark gray tom's flanks began heaving again and he slowly stood up, shivering but the determined fire in his eyes burned once more.

"We mustn't let the badgers wipe us out! We have to drive them out!" He yowled and threw himself once more into the battle.

Vinekit's eyes widened in shock as she watched how her Clanmates threw themselves into their death, one after another. There were too many badgers, too many for them to handle. And what was holding her down? Why couldn't she move? Why did StarClan allow that?

A scream coming from the medicine den caught Vinekit's attention and when she turned around she saw a badger fighting against Snowpaw and Smoketail. Smoketail had his teeth buried in the badger's arm and Snowpaw barely dodged the badger's blow.

"Ravenwing is dead!"

The world seemed to stand still for a heartbeat as Passionpool's words echoed across the clearing. No, that couldn't be true. StarClan couldn't be that cruel!

But it was true. The small black-and-white she-cat lay on her side, legs splayed, and there was a deep gash in her throat. Her dark eyes were sightlessly staring into the sky and were even duller than usual. What would they do without their medicine cat?

Mudstep walked to her, pressed his nose into her fur for a few heartbeats, before throwing himself at the nearby badger. How many more cats would die in that battle? How many more cats would join the ranks of StarClan?

A high-pitched scream cut through the air. Vinekit's heart stopped beating for a moment. She recognized that scream. It was Tomatokit.

"No!" Brightsong yelled, as he too spotted a badger coming out of the nursery with his daughter tightly clutched between its jaws. The tiny fur ball wasn't moving, her eyes were lusterless.

Vinekit wanted to yell, to scream. Her heart felt as if it was torn in half, the sight choking her. Her legs gave way under her and she hid her face in her paws, whimpering and wailing. She wanted this to stop! It shouldn't go on anymore!

"Stop crying, Vinekit."

Suddenly the noises of the battle died down and the badgers disappeared. The camp was bathed in red light, but then Vinekit realized that it was bathed in blood. She felt nausea rising in her body as she recognized the many unmoving shapes that lay on the ground. Her Clanmates... all brutally murdered and slaughtered. Dens were destroyed, trampled down. Tufts of fur were laying across the ground. Bloody. Her paws quivered. Why did this happen?

"This is only the beginning, Vinekit." A voice, so painfully familiar, called out to her and she turned around to see her beloved grandmother Romeleaf standing a few mouse lengths away, her eyes shadowed with sadness and grief.

"Grandma Romeleaf!" The kit squealed and ran to her, purring. "I am so happy to see you again!"

Romeleaf purred. "You have grown so big already, my dear." They touched noses. "But you must be careful, Vinekit. Dark times are coming."

Vinekit tilted her head. "Dark times?" She asked.

"Yes, the Clans are about to face their darkest hour. Be warned, Vinekit." With those words the tabby she-cat's silhouette began to slowly fade away.

"No, Romeleaf! Don't go! What do you mean? Stay here!" The she-kit wailed, but no answer came. "Romeleaf!"

* * *

"For StarClan's sake, stop thrashing around like that!"

Vinekit's eyes flew open and she sprang to her paws, heavily breathing. Her heart was still pounding and she was sure to see blood at her paws.

"Had a nightmare, huh?" Icepaw yawned and licked over his paw. Vinekit could only nod, her body was still shaking. From outside she could see the sun shining into the den. Her mood brightened a bit and she shook bits of moss out of her fur, before leaving the den.

The camp was quiet and everything seemed normal. No badgers, no blood, no shrieks, no growls, no claws, no teeth... Everything was normal.

Vinekit let out a long sigh. It really had only been a nightmare. She was even gladder when she spotted Sorrelheart and Ravenwing outside the nursery.

"Don't worry, Sorrelheart. I gave her catnip, she should be fine in a few days, but I want her to stay in the medicine den until she's completely cured." Ravenwing told her. Vinekit relaxed. Tomatokit would be fine again.

"Thank you, Ravenwing." Sorrelheart breathed and brightened when she saw her daughter padding toward her. "Good morning, dear! I heard you slept in the apprentices' den?" She greeted her daughter and licked over her ear.

"Yes! It was cool! But I had a nightmare." She admitted, slightly shifting her paws. "It was creepy! There were so many badgers and they were killing everyone!" The kit's voice trembled and slowly but surely turned into a high-pitched wail. "Romeleaf came and told me that was a warning and that the Clans are facing their darkest hour!"

Sorrelheart licked over her daughter's head and purred to calm her, but Vinekit noticed that the two she-cats were exchanging a troubled glance. Ravenwing looked quite terrified and was mumbling something under her breath as she raced over to the leader's den. Was that the truth? Were the Clans in danger? Would they really be facing their darkest hour?

* * *

Whew, chapter three done! This one was quite easy to write~

Hasta la pasta~


	6. Chapter Four

Ciao everyone~ here's the fourth chapter of Warritalia!

Whew, I finally thought about all the warrior names for the kits and apprentices :D I kinda like them :3 Let's see when they will get warriors! :3

Enjoy!

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An icy breeze ruffled Maplewhisper's fur as she sat inside her den, sorting through her supplies. She was growing short on her supplies of tansy and coltsfoot, she needed to collect some later. Not today though. Tonight was the night of the Gathering and she was looking forward to it. Almost a moon had passed after she had gone to AxisClan, pleading Ravenwing to help her. The Clan had survived the outbreak of greencough well, none of them had died, although Firetail still seemed a bit sickly. Ponystep had given birth to a little tom, Quiverkit. He was very cute, but he was very frightened, hadn't even set a paw outside the nursery until Ponystep had put him outside a few sunrises ago. The fluffy creamy-white kit had slowly but surely started to explore the camp, but he was easily frightened by a falling leaf or the rustling of the ferns. Maplewhisper was a bit worried about him, to be honest, but she was sure he would become more confident when he got older.

Mooncloud had also moved to the nursery just a few days ago and it wouldn't take too long anymore until she gave birth to tiny kits. Although she didn't know how many kits were in her womb, she was sure there were at least two kits in there.

She gazed into the sky. The sun was slowly setting. They would have to leave soon if they wanted to arrive at the Gathering in time. Maplewhisper wondered if everything would go well this moon. The last Gathering couldn't be held, because clouds were covering the moon and it had been raining and thundering.

_Hopefully there won't be any problems tonight._ The medicine cat thought.

"Maplewhisper, are you ready?" Her brother's voice echoed through the den.

"Yes, just give me a heartbeat!" She called back and brought the herbs to the back of her den before joining her brother and the patrol. Bearclaw was sitting near the entrance, talking to his mate, their tails intertwined. Icyshimmer sat a tail length away from them, her eyes burning into her brother's fur. Dimstorm and Shadepaw were chatting, while Rosewhisker gave his chest fur a couple of licks. Creamspark stretched herself, her muscles playing under her short creamy fur. Eaglestar quickly exchanged a few words with Firetail.

"Honestly Eaglestar, I told you, I'm feeling well enough to come with you." The she-cat murmured.

"You've been very sick and I don't want you to strain yourself. You're staying here." He replied, his voice showing he didn't accept any objections.

"Don't be such a mouse-brain! .fine." She nearly growled, but Eaglestar only laughed and licked over her cheek.

"I love you." He whispered.

She stared at him for a moment before rubbing her cheek against his chin. "I love you too." She purred and Eaglestar turned to the other cats. Mooncloud had already gone to the nursery again, Maplewhisper noticed.

Probably because Bearclaw had sent her there. He was very protective of his mate and didn't let her out of the nursery for too long, to make sure she wasn't straining herself.

"Everyone ready?" The white tom asked, his voice loud and cheerful as usual.

Every cat nodded and Eaglestar led the way out of the camp.

The forest was silent as the patrol set out, only broken by the murmurs of the nearby river and the occasional quiet chatting of the Clan cats. Maplewhisper walked next to Shadepaw, listening to the apprentice boasting about how great he was at hunting and how he caught a squirrel which was almost as big as himself that day.

"It was really big! Brackenfang was really amazed! He told me I'm going to be a warrior soon!" The tom grinned and kept on babbling about something Maplewhisper wasn't paying attention to. The Gathering tonight, she wondered what AxisClan would report. If something was going on there. Ravenwing had received the same threatening message from StarClan, so the future must be very dark, indeed. Maplewhisper shivered when she thought about the ominous warning Astralsky had given her. Maybe she'd talk with Ravenwing later about that.

Maplewhisper spotted a blackbird sitting about a rabbit hop away. Her belly growled but she had no appetite for some reason and they couldn't stop for hunting anyway.

After a while the patrol arrived at the Gathering place. It was an island, parted from the mainland by two streams. In the middle were two giant oak trees, clumps of ferns and bramble thickets clustered around them. There was also a large rock between the two trees where the leaders always sat. The deputies sat down in front of the rock and the medicine cats took place at the roots of one of the trees. The other cats then gathered around. Above them the warriors of StarClan sparkled and danced around, the sky was dark blue and not a single cloud could be seen. The full moon hung high in the sky. It was almost time for the Gathering, but AxisClan wasn't there. Surely it wouldn't take much longer, they would probably arrive within the next heartbeats.

Eaglestar sprang onto the rock and sat down, his blue eyes shining brightly in the moon light. Bearclaw crouched down in front of the rock and Maplewhisper slowly padded over to the roots of one of the giant oak trees. She watched the other cats of her Clan settle down, when voices coming from across the streams could be heard. AxisClan had arrived and Nightstar led his cats into the clearing.

Maplewhisper caught a glance of Frostclaw, the AxisClan deputy. His muscles were clearly visible under his short white pelt and his red eyes gleamed beautifully in the moonlight. He was very handsome.

She swallowed. Handsome? Did that word really stumble into her mind when she looked at the tom? She was a medicine cat, for StarClan's sake! Of course she couldn't start fancying another cat, especially not a tom from another Clan!

Shaking her head she pushed that thought to the corner of her mind, trying to hide her growing blush and almost painfully tore her gaze from the handsome tom as he took his place next to Bearclaw.

Instead of thinking about him, the white she-cat started scanning the clearing for Ravenwing, but there was no sign of the black-and-white she-cat. She moved closer to Finstream, the small she-cat from AxisClan whom she was on pretty good terms with. The she-cat often helped Ravenwing, if she recalled correctly. Maybe she knew where Ravenwing was.

"Excuse me, do you know where Ravenwing is?" She asked as she got closer to the light brown she-cat.

"She is staying in the camp tonight. Snowpaw had complained about pains in her belly since some sunrises and Ravenwing is quite worried about her, so she didn't want to leave her alone." Finstream explained, her gaze filled with worry.

"Nothing serious, I hope?"  
Finstream shook her head. "We don't know yet. Ravenwing said she had never been encountered with something like that before. She guesses it's something with her organs. I hope she gets better soon."

Maplewhisper touched her flank with the tip of her tail. Finstream was Snowpaw's mentor, if she remembered correctly.

"I'm sure she will get better soon."

"Let the Gathering begin!" Nightstar's yowl rang out across the clearing and all the murmurs died away. Nightstar nodded at Eaglestar and the white tom stepped forward.

"Everything is going well in AlliesClan. We have been able to defeat the outbreak of greencough completely without loosing any of our cats, thanks to Maplewhisper and Ravenwing of AxisClan." He began, his glance shortly meeting Maplewhisper's, then his eyes searched for Ravenwing. "Though it appears she's not here." He muttered, before raising his voice again. "Ponystep has given birth to Quiverkit, the newest member of AlliesClan." He announced.

A short murmur of congratulation came from the cats below.

"We have found a fox on our territory but Rosewhisker, Brownstrike, Dappletail and Icyshimmer drove it away. I am sure we have seen the last of it."

"Rosewhisker, Brownstrike, Dappletail, Icyshimmer!" The cats cheered.

"Other than that, everything is going well." Eaglestar stepped back and Nightstar took his place.

"We have been troubled with a rather small outbreak of greencough as well. Our cats are recovering well." Nightstar began. "Prey is running well in our territory and we have seen nothing of Twolegs this leaf-bare. Let's hope they continue to stay away."

With both leaders having finished their speech, the cats began to exchange news among themselves and share tongues after a moon apart.

Maplewhisper noticed the big tom Dawnpelt heading toward her. "Do you have a moment?" He asked. She tilted her head. What could he want from her?  
"Of course."

His gaze traveled to the ground. "I saw you talking to Finstream and heard you were talking about Snowpaw." He began.

Immediately she knew what he wanted to ask. If she knew something to help her.

"And you want to ask if I know a way to cure her, right?"

He blushed and nodded sheepishly. Maplewhisper wondered why he would care so much about the apprentice, but she guessed it was just that they were Clanmates and he was bound to worry. Although it looked a bit more than just the usual relation between a warrior and an apprentice.

"I'm so worried about her. She is complaining about having pains and Ravenwing said she's bleeding. There must be something seriously wrong with her. Did you have a case like that before? Do you know how to help her? Please, Maplewhisper!" The tom pleaded.

Now she was sure. The tom was caring extremely for the she-cat, otherwise he wouldn't tell a cat from another Clan about that, even if that cat was the other Clan's medicine cat. Maybe he had fallen in love with her?

Seeing how troubled he was Maplewhisper began going through the list of remedies in her head. "She could try chewing dandelion leaves, they are like painkillers... Juniper berries or parsley for the bellyache... Maybe poppy seeds if the pains are too much... Watermint is also very good for bellyache..." She listed and Dawnpelt nodded.

"Ravenwing also gave her chervil."

Maplewhisper froze. Chervil was mostly used for bellyaches and infected wounds, but it could also be used during... kitting. Could it be? She swallowed. Dawnpelt and Snowpaw seemed to share a deep bound, but surely... Snowpaw couldn't be expecting kits already? No, she was an apprentice. Surely she couldn't be expecting the creamy warrior's kits.

"Thank you, Maplewhisper. I just... thought you might know what's wrong with her." The tom murmured, dipped his head and padded off to join a conversation between Dimstorm and Batfang.

As she watched after him, she felt her heart break in two. It must be terrible to see the cat you love in so much pain and you couldn't do anything to help. Although she wouldn't get to know that feeling. She wasn't allowed to have a mate, after all. A sigh escaped her lips.

Suddenly, someone bumped against her and she whirled around.

"Ah, sorry." The cat muttered and Maplewhisper recognized the tall muscular shape of Frostclaw who had dipped his head. His red eyes shone brightly and she felt like drowning in the depths of his eyes. There was a look in his eyes... something...

"You're-" Frostclaw began, but stopped when someone called his name. "Coming!" The white tom pelted off, but stopped after a few heartbeats and turned his head around, winking. "You're beautiful." He whispered before joining the cat who had called him.

Maplewhisper stared at him in awe. Did he really just tell her that he thought she was beautiful? Her heartbeat fastened. He was so beautiful, so handsome, so muscular. There was something surrounding him that was just... amazing. That made Maplewhisper's heart beat so fast she felt like she could faint. That took her the air to breathe. But she knew she couldn't give in to her feelings.

_I can't love him... and he can't love me. I'm a medicine cat._ She thought bitterly while watching the white tom. The moon cast its bright light at him, making him glow in a silver light and making him look like a StarClan warrior. He was simply beautiful and Maplewhisper wasn't sure whether she could suppress her feelings. _I'm a medicine cat. I'm a medicine cat. I'm a medicine cat!_

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Little Quiverkit is Latvia, by the way :D

Oh poor Maplewhisper is totally torn between her feelings~ She loves Frostclaw but she also wants to be a loyal medicine cat. I don't know how exactly she will decide, so I'm as curious as you are! And I have something up my sleeve for Snowpaw and Dawnpelt, but it's probably not what you're expecting ;D Will Snowpaw become the first apprentice queen? Who knows!

Reviews are welcome.

Hasta la pasta~ (=ヮ=)೨


	7. Chapter Five

Whew, finally an update! I'm so sorry it took so long, but there had been so much interfering with continuing the fanfics! Illness, school, stress, Christmas …

Ahem. But finally here's chapter five! The next chapter of "Don't Leave Me" will follow in a few days, as well.

Enjoy! R&R please!

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Tomatokit was sitting next to Vinekit, while Sorrelheart was licking Vinekit's fur. Vinekit was itching and trying to escape her mother's grasp, her amber eyes wide and filled with excitement. Tomatokit let out a soft purr. She had already been groomed and her paws were itching. The last three moons had passed so quickly and she had easily gotten over the greencough. It had only been a small outbreak and the Clan had quickly recovered without losing anyone. Right now she and Vinekit were waiting as Nightstar spoke a few words to the Clan. The brown she-kit was so excited, although she wouldn't show it as much as her sister who was bouncing and purring! She and Vinekit would finally become apprentices!

"Tomatokit and Vinekit, you have reached the age of six moons and it is time for you to be apprenticed. Tomatokit, step forward." Nightstar spoke and the kit stepped forward, her chin high and trying to be as serious as she could. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Tomatopaw." He paused for a moment and Tomatopaw's paws prickled. Who would her mentor be? "Passionpool, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You will be the mentor of Tomatopaw and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

Passionpool dipped his head and stepped forward to touch noses with Tomatopaw. He looked just as excited as she was. His tail tip was twitching and his green eyes were full of warmth.

"Don't worry, you'll do great." He whispered into her ear and she nodded curtly as they walked back to where the other cats were standing.

"Vinekit, step forward." Nightstar went on and Vinekit happily hopped forward. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Vinepaw." The tiny kit squealed, but was quickly silenced by a hush from Sorrelheart. Lowering her head she glanced sheepishly at Nightstar, who barely suppressed a sigh. "Mousefoot, you will be Vinepaw's mentor. Pass down all you know to this young apprentice."

Tomatopaw watched Mousefoot and Vinepaw touching noses and joined her and Passionpool.

"Tomatopaw! Vinepaw! Tomatopaw! Vinepaw!" The Clan cheered and Sorrelheart and Brightsong hurried to them, Sorrelheart purring too loud for words and Brightsong gave his daughters a lick of congratulation. Frostclaw was the next to follow and congratulated the two apprentices, his crimson eyes shining.

"Well, how about you ask Icepaw and Snowpaw to show you the apprentices' den?" Mousefoot suggested and pointed to where the two apprentices were. Icepaw and Snowpaw could already have been made warriors, however, when Snowpaw's recovery from greencough was slowly, Icepaw had insisted on staying an apprentice and being made a warrior when her sister was feeling well again. Although Tomatopaw had witnessed in much pain the she-cat used to be, Snowpaw seemed to be fine again. Ravenwing had insisted on checking on her every now and then, obviously not so sure what had been wrong with her, but Tomatopaw had heard – though only as a coincidence – that had it not only been the greencough. Anyways, Tomatopaw was impressed by Icepaw. Everyone knew how eager the tom was to finally being a warrior and yet he decided himself to wait until his sister could also be made a warrior.

Suddenly she felt a paw poking her and she snapped out of her thoughts to see Vinepaw staring at her with big eyes.

"Ve~ Come on, Tomatopaw!" She meowed and padded off toward the two older apprentices who were chatting. Tomatopaw noticed Snowpaw's dark blue eyes gleaming with tease, while Icepaw had a deep blush on his face and looked rather unhappy.

"It's not true!" He snapped.

"It's true~" Snowpaw meowed with her monotone voice. "You have a crush on her."

Icepaw hissed, while Snowpaw let out a _mrrow_ of amusement.

"I don't like Creamspark! She's a warrior from another Clan. For StarClan's sake I _don't_ have a crush on her!" The tom growled, but Snowpaw snickered. They stopped their quarrel as they noticed the two she-cats approaching.

After a short chat, the four apprentices walked over to the apprentices' den and made two moss nests, one for Vinepaw and one for Tomatopaw. When they had finished the two younger apprentices stumbled outside to meet their mentors, eager to know what would come next. Passionpool twitched his tail.

"How about we show them the territory?" He suggested while glancing at Mousefoot who nodded.

"Good idea." To the she-cats she added, "Come on, you two. Let's get going."

The four cats headed off and left the camp through the gorse tunnel that marked the entrance and exit to the camp. Tomatopaw couldn't believe it. Finally, finally were they be able to leave the camp! All those moons confined in camp, because they had been too young, too small.

But that was not the case anymore! They were six moons old. They were apprentices. They were finally allowed out of camp.

It was like a dream that came true. Tomatopaw looked to her side to glance at her sister Vinepaw who looked just as excited as she felt. Passionpool and Mousefoot were walking ahead of them, their paws hitting the ground as they walked being the only sound that echoed through the forest. Newleaf had come and the forest was slowly but surely being filled with prey and plants returning after the long sleep of leaf-bare. Tomatopaw and Vinepaw hadn't encountered greenleaf yet, but from what she had heard it sounded great. Always warm. Forest filled with lots and lots of prey. Long days, short nights. A lot of sunshine. Basically, everything a cat could wish for and Tomatopaw was surely looking forward to it.

"First of all, big parts of this forest is ours." Passionpool began as they stopped at a murmuring stream. "The stream divides the territories. Everything across this river is AlliesClan territory, so make sure to stay away from it." The tom explained, his fur looking almost completely snow white in the sunshine.

"In the middle of the territories is the place where we meet at Gatherings, but we'll tell you more about it when we stop there." Mousefoot added and they headed off again.

Tomatopaw noticed that most of the territory seemed to be woods, a stream running like a claw through the forest at some parts. The stream was the border, Tomatopaw tried to memorize as well as she could. She wouldn't just set paw over the border and right into enemy territory. She wasn't mouse-brained, but she was worried about her … well, quite idiotic sister. She was quite oblivious and a real mouse-brain, surely she couldn't remember all of that. Vinepaw was also happy-go-lucky and that made her worry a bit, however, Tomatopaw would just have an eye on her.

The singing of a few birds nearby made Tomatopaw snap out of her thoughts and throw her head around, trying to make out where the noises came from. Then, after a few heartbeats, she spotted a blackbird a fox-length away among some ferns. Passionpool and Mousefoot seemed to have noticed it as well while Vinepaw was sticking a paw into the water, a dumb-happy look on her face.

Passionpool licked his lips. "Care to see how to hunt?" He asked.

Tomatopaw's eyes lit up and Vinepaw padded over, her tail waving. "Yes!" She meowed.

The light-colored tom shot forward like a snake, his paws making no noise as they hit the ground. He was crouching a few mouse-lengths away from the bird which didn't seem to have noticed him as it was busy trying to pull a worm out of the ground. Quick as a lightning the tom sprang and the bird raised its head in alarm, about to fly off, but Passionpool was quicker and killed the bird with a swift bite into its neck. Triumphantly he padded over to the waiting she-cats and tossed it on the ground in front of the apprentices' paws.

"Help yourselves."

Mousefoot's tail tip twitched. "I'll catch my own food later, thanks." She replied bitterly.

"Are we even allowed to eat already?" Tomatopaw sniffed the bird, as Vinepaw took a bite.

"We're not on a hunting patrol, so it's okay." Mousefoot explained.

Tomatopaw crouched down and together the sisters finished the bird with a few quick bites. Mousefoot and Passionpool had both hunted something for themselves and after the group had finished their meal, they headed off again.

After a while they arrived at a slope. Tomatopaw peeked over the edge to see a clearing with two large trees and a rather big rock in the middle of them. It was bathed in sunlight and looked quite magical. The cream-and-brown she-cat was impressed.

"Wow! Is that the Gathering place?" Vinepaw asked.

"Yes, that's it. Every full moon both clans gather here and discuss the news and what happened during the past moon. It's a time of peace and the truce given to us from StarClan allows us to talk and share tongues in peace with cats from the other clan." Mousefoot explained and let out a _mrrow_ of amusement. Vinepaw was standing at the edge of the slope with wide-opened mouth and bright shining eyes, while Tomatopaw stood there more serious, but her twitching tail tip showed she was just as excited.

"Alright. There's just one last thing we have to show you. After that's done, we can head back to camp." Passionpool said sternly, "But be warned. The thing we will show you now is dangerous and you have to listen exactly to what we say."

Tomatopaw nodded, but she was a bit worried. Not exactly about that dangerous thing, but rather about her more than mouse-brained sister who just let out a "Ve~".

The patrol padded quietly side by side, until Passionpool and Mousefoot stopped in front of a strange dark gray thing. The two apprentices approached it carefully, Tomatopaw's fur bristled as she got nearer. She watched Vinepaw touching it with her paw.

"Ve~, it's hard and feels strange." She meowed and sniffed at it.

Suddenly Tomatopaw felt wind in her whiskers and the ground seemed to shake. She raised her head in alarm as she heard a growl in the distance slowly but surely getting louder and louder.

"Quickly, get away from it!" Mousefoot yowled and Vinepaw jumped back with a loud yelp, as a gigantic colorful thing raced past them with an ear-shattering growl. Tomatopaw's fur was bristled so that she looked twice her size and her heart was pounding against her ribcage like a trapped bird. It was like the world had been frozen for the heartbeat as the giant had raced past.

"W-what was that?" She asked after a while, when the shock was gone.

"That was a monster." Mousefoot answered, her tail tip touching Vinepaw's flank. Vinepaw still looked horrified and for a moment Tomatopaw was worried that the shock might have been too much for her.

"Then that's the thunderpath, right?" Vinepaw asked.

"Yes." Passionpool meowed, "But you have to be very careful around those. You now know why, right? Even the most experienced warriors are afraid of them, because those monsters can easily kill a cat." He stopped for a moment and his gaze darkened as if he was remembering something. Shaking his head, he stretched his jaws. "Look, the sun is already setting. How about we head back? Surely you two are tired by now."

Tomatopaw relaxed her tense muscles. For the first time today she noticed exhaustion pulling at her like a weight. A sigh escaped her lips. She was glad. All she wanted was to curl into her nest and sleep.

The four cats set off, walking toward the camp and toward the setting sun.

x.x.x.x.x.x.

The next chapter won't take as long as this one, I promise! I still have holidays, so that means there's quite some time to write!

Thanks for reading!

Hasta la pasta~


	8. Chapter Six

Ciao everyone! Get ready for the sixth chapter of Warritalia! Tension rises among the clans!

Enjoy! R&R please!

* * *

"No, no, no, Vinepaw! You have to dodge the blows and then hit back! Hit back hard!"

Vinepaw panted and raised her head to stare at Mousefoot, exhaustion dragging at her like a weight. They had battle training since shortly after sunrise and it was past sun high already. The cream-and-brown she-cat sighed. She hated battle training and fighting. That was the one thing she absolutely didn't want to do. Why should she hurt other cats? It was simply impossible for her to do that.

"Can we stop now? I'm hungry." She complained, but Mousefoot stared at her with a twitch of her tail.

"You are hungry? That's fine. But you won't eat anything until you manage to land a blow." Mousefoot replied, the annoyance in her voice could easily be heard.

Vinepaw's tail dropped and her stomach growled in protest. She could hear Mousefoot letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Come on, I know you can do that." She muttered and Vinepaw got to her paws, shaking dust out of her fluffy fur. Mousefoot stood a fox-length away, her lips curled, as she waited for an attack. Vinepaw took a deep breath and raced toward Mousefoot, raising a paw to hit her mentor. However, Mousefoot was quick to react and jumped out of the way, before she hit, and simply watched her apprentice stumbling into the sandy hollow once again. Vinepaw let out a low growl and raised to her paws.

"I just can't do it. I dun wanna do it anymore." She wailed. "I'm not made for battle training! I don't want to fight and I don't want to hurt anyone!"

Mousefoot stared at her, an unreadable expression in her blue eyes. "Let's get back and get something to eat." The dark brown tabby simply stated and began padding off toward the camp, throwing one glance behind her to check if her apprentice was following.

Vinepaw padded after her, her paws heavy with shame and guilt. She hated it to disappoint her mentor, but she just couldn't help it. She simply hated battle training. Two moon and a half moons had passed since she and her sister Tomatopaw had been made apprentices. Ever since she always loved hunting training, but despised battle training. She was also looking forward to her first Gathering, which she hoped to be the one that was already in a few days.

Suddenly she froze. A strange scent hit her nose. It was weird … like … like something she had scented before … though the memory was already faded. Then it hit her.

"Mousefoot, I think I can scent AlliesClan cats!" She meowed quietly, but loud enough for her mentor to catch her words. The she-cat turned around, eyes wide with shock, but then raised her nose to taste the air. Her eyes narrowed.

"You're right. They're close." She growled and her claws slid in and out. "Vinepaw, get back to camp and get reinforcements. I'll go and look if I can find them."

Reluctantly, Vinepaw nodded. She hated to leave Mousefoot alone, but she knew she had an important job to fulfill. As fast as she could she darted off, her paws barely hitting the ground, as she practically flew across the forest ground to the camp.

She pulled herself through the gorse tunnel and stumbled into the camp, panting. It was so peaceful here. No cat guessed anything about a possible invasion.

In the middle of the clearing she spotted Nightstar and raced toward him.

"Nightstar, Nightstar! Help!" Vinepaw yowled and immediately got every cat's attention.

"What's the matter?" The tom's deep voice was alarmed.

"Invasion! AlliesClan cats … near the training hollow!" She panted and heard several growls rising among the cats.

"How dare they?" Sandmask hissed. "We won't let them get away with that, right?"

"There's been too much tension." Mudstep muttered.

"We'll show them that they can't just invade our territory!" Batfang agreed.

The cats started discussing the current situation among themselves, loud hisses and growls rising above the voices. Ruffled pelts and unsheathed claws were everything Vinepaw could see.

"Everyone, shut up!" Nightstar's voice yelled, louder than the others. Immediately all the murmurs and noises died down as every cat raised their heads to look at Nightstar who stood on one of the ancient willow's branches, so that he could see every cat in the clan. The dark gray tom waited until he was sure that every cat was paying attention to him, "We will show them that they cannot just trespass on our territory. Frostclaw, I want you to lead one patrol. Choose four warriors to come with you. I will lead another patrol. Sunblaze, Brightsong, Batfang and Vinepaw will come with me." He listed the cats' names and the patrol gathered in front of the ancient willow. Frostclaw had chosen Dawnpelt and his apprentice Icepaw, Sorrelheart, Smoketail and Mudstep. "The rest will stay here and guard the camp." Nightstar announced, his light blue eyes filled with anger. "They will regret that they ever set paw on AxisClan territory!"

* * *

Vinepaw felt sick with fear. She didn't want to go fighting the enemy patrol. The she-cat was so scared it made her body tremble.

Suddenly she felt a tail tip touching her flank and she looked up to see Nightstar standing beside her. "Don't worry. Fight as well as you can and you will do well." He said encouragingly and she blinked at him in surprise. There was a touch of warmth in his blue eyes, but it lasted only a heartbeat, until he turned around to address the patrol. "Frostclaw's patrol will stay behind and come when we gave the signal. Every cat listens to my word. We will give them a chance to explain themselves, before we attack. Understand?" The cats nodded and Nightstar and his patrol pushed their way through the ferns, leaving Frostclaw's patrol behind to hide in the depth of the woods, close enough to hear the signal.

Among some ferns on a clearing, Vinepaw spotted a few cats. A long-furred, cream tom sniffed at a tree, while a Siamese she-cat held a vole in her jaws. Out of the bushes came a black-and-white apprentice, his tail drooping as failure was reflected in his amber eyes.

Vinepaw could feel her fur bristle and shoulders tense. Those three cats definitely were from AlliesClan. She had scented their scent when she was on border patrols and thought it was quite yucky!

Next to her a growl resounded. Turning her head she saw Batfang unsheathing his claws. Sunblaze stood next to him and behind her was Brightsong. Nightstar stood in front of them and stepped out of the ferns.

"Oh, Rosewhisker, Creamspark and Shadepaw. What are you doing on AxisClan territory?" Nightstar asked, his voice dripping with distrust.

The cream tom stepped forward, though Vinepaw thought for a moment to scent his fear scent. "We need prey." He explained curtly.

"Go hunt at your own territory, fox dung!" Batfang spat, but he was silenced by Nightstar with a wave of his tail.

"Why can't you hunt at your own territory?"

The three AlliesClan cats looked at each other. "It's too dangerous. A family of savage foxes made a den on our territory and they steal all of our prey. If a cat crosses their path, they will attack it." Creamspark explained, her brown eyes dull with exhaustion and hunger. For the first time Vinepaw noticed how thin the cats looked, their rips sticking out like branches. Vinepaw could count each of them. Their fur had lost its silkiness and it looked rather dull and unkempt.

The cream-and-brown she-cat wrinkled her nose in disgust as the stench of crow-food hit her nose. "Bah! What have they been eating?" She spat, as she shook her head.

"When clans are in trouble finding prey, they will eat anything." Brightsong explained, though she could see her father's ruffled fur and the look of disgust in his violet eyes.

"That sounds tough, and it may be the truth, but you cannot simply come and steal our prey." Nightstar stated, his voice without any sympathy. "Life has its hardships."

Shadepaw bared his teeth. "We're all about to starve! Our queens don't have milk and the kits can't eat anything! The rest of us is the same! We don't have anything to eat! Why can't-"

"Hush, Shadepaw!" Creamspark barged in and nudged the apprentice aside who glared daggers at her. "Please, Nightstar. Allow us to hunt or all of us will die." She dipped her head.

Suddenly something hit Vinepaw. Where was Mousefoot? Her mentor had sent her away to get reinforcements, but where was she now? She padded over to Nightstar.

"Nightstar, um-"

But Brightsong grabbed her by the scruff and turned around. "Don't bother Nightstar. He's busy, as you can see."

"But, father-!"

"No buts!"

Disappointed she drooped her tail. Why didn't anyone want to listen to her. "But what about Mousefoot? She's nowhere to be seen."

Brightsong glanced at her. "I'm sure she's somewhere around."

"Leave. You have to deal with your problems alone and you are not allowed to take any of our prey." Nightstar decided, his voice absolute. The three AlliesClan cats stared at him with wide-opened mouths, but they said nothing and padded off after a few heartbeats, their tails drooping and heads hanging.

Claws dug into Vinepaw's heart as sympathy flooded her. Those poor cats … surely they couldn't let all of them starve, right? They just couldn't!

"Shouldn't we give them at least a bit of prey? They looked so hungry …" She muttered, but was silenced by a hiss coming from Brightsong.

"Those are our enemies. We cannot give them any prey that is rightfully ours!" Brightsong snapped. "And I don't want to hear any more about that!"

Vinepaw sighed. "Okay …"

* * *

The next morning, Vinepaw awoke with a good mood. She stretched her muscles and shook bits of moss out of her fur. Tomatopaw and Icepaw were still sleeping, but Snowpaw's nest was empty. After giving her fur a quick wash, she stepped out of the den, careful not to disturb her denmates' sleep.

The sun had barely risen and the last StarClan warriors were still shining down at the clans. Vinepaw saw the dawn patrol leaving, Mudstep leading the patrol with Sorrelheart, Finstream, Snowpaw and Brightsong behind him. She padded over to Passionpool, who lazily washed himself in front of the warriors' den.

"Good morning, Passionpool." She called out to him.

"Good morning." His eyes were full of warmth for the younger she-cat. "Is there anything I can do for you?" He asked.

Vinepaw nodded. "Yes, I'm looking for Mousefoot. She promised me to take me hunting when we were training yesterday, but I haven't seen her all day."

Passionpool stopped dead, as if he was trying to remember something. "Yeah, you're right. I haven't seen her yesterday after you two left, either."

The leaves of the bramble thicket that formed the warriors' den rustled and a white tom stepped outside. It was Frostclaw.

"Morning, you two!" He said with his usual cheerful voice, a grin on his face.

"Good morning, Frostclaw! Ve~ Have you seen Mousefoot?"

"Sorry, Vinepaw." He answered and stopped for a moment, "Was she even here yesterday? She hasn't slept in the warriors' den."

Vinepaw started to feel sick. What if those three AlliesClan cats yesterday had taken her captive?

_No_, she told herself, _that's not possible. They were so weak and hungry, they couldn't do that._

"We should go look for her. I'll tell my brother." With that Frostclaw padded off to the leader's den. Passionpool rose to his paws and followed him with Vinepaw. The two cats were waiting in front of the den and after a moment Nightstar stepped out with Frostclaw behind him.

"Frostclaw filled me in. You better go as soon as possible. If there is a family of foxes running loose in AlliesClan territory, they might get the idea to come over here, as well." His expression darkened. "We cannot let that happen." Then his gaze rested on Frostclaw, his eyes growing soft, as if he was remembering something. "Be careful, you three."

Frostclaw flicked his ear with his tail. "Kesese~ Don't worry, brother! We'll take care of our awesome selves!"

"Should we take another cat with us?" Passionpool asked.

"If you find someone, who wants to, of course. Though remember, the more cats, the more the foxes might be attracted."

With that being said, Passionpool raced to the warriors' den and returned after a while with Smoketail. The black tom's expression was unreadable and it caused shivers running down her spine as if icy water trickled onto her spine.

"Let's go."

* * *

To write this chapter was quite easy. I really enjoyed it!

Hasta la pasta!


	9. Chapter Seven

Ciao everyone and a happy new year~ Here's the seventh chapter!

Enjoy and R&R please!

* * *

Vinepaw left the camp with Frostclaw, Passionpool and Smoketail, her paws quivering with fear. Where could her mentor be? Could it really be that she had been captured by AlliesClan cats? Well, it was possible! Maybe those three simply served as distraction, while other cats of their Clan had invaded the territory even more and captured Mousefoot!

The cream-and-brown she-cat shook her head to push those thoughts to the edge of his mind. No, they didn't capture her. Mousefoot was fine and somewhere on the territory. Everything was okay. Everything was fine. Every cat was fine.

"Honestly, what does she think, simply wandering off like that?" Frostclaw groaned as he heaved himself up a dusty slope.

"What if something happened to her?" Vinepaw spoke her worries aloud.

Passionpool affectionately touched her ear with his muzzle. "Don't worry, she'll be fine."

"I hope you're right." She muttered.

The four cats searched all over the territory. Looked behind every single clump of fern. Looked behind every tree. Looked inside every rabbit den, empty fox den, empty badger den. Nothing. Nothing at all. Not even the faintest trace. As the time went on, Vinepaw began to worry even more, to get disappointed. Just where could Mousefoot be? And maybe her thoughts and worries were true. Maybe something did happen to her.

"Mousefoot!" Frostclaw yowled, hoping the she-cat would answer him. In vain. Only the quiet whisper of the wind answered him, but it didn't say any words that the cats could understand.

Vinepaw let out a frustrated growl. All that searching didn't bring them any closer to Mousefoot!

"All that searching doesn't get us anywhere. We've searched the whole territory, but Mousefoot is nowhere to be found. Let's get back and inform Nightstar." Smoketail suggested, exhaustion dripping from his deep voice.

Passionpool and Frostclaw nodded, looking as exhausted as Vinepaw felt. It was way past sun-high, the sky was already dyed in a reddish color and high above their heads, the first StarClan warriors were already visible, and Vinepaw was so tired, she thought she couldn't raise a single paw.

The way back to the camp was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Vinepaw knew that the other cats were also thinking about the same thing she did: Could there be something in the territory that attacked Mousefoot? Or was it the work of the Allies?

A troubled sigh escaped her lips. She didn't know. She didn't know, at all. All she knew was that she was worried and scared.

* * *

When they arrived at the camp, most of the cats were already gathered in the middle of the clearing, drowsily sharing tongues or eating together. She spotted Nightstar talking to Ravenwing in front of the medicine den. The patrol approached the two cats and waited for them to finish their talk.

"Don't worry, Nightstar. I will see if there is anything I can do." Ravenwing dipped her head to the dark gray tom. "Oh, look, Frostclaw's patrol is back."

Nightstar turned around to meet his brother's patrol. With a nod at Ravenwing he padded over to the fresh-kill pile, motioning to the patrol to follow him. They picked some fresh-kill and gathered in front of Nightstar's den to eat. While they were eating, Frostclaw explained the situation.

"We looked everywhere, but Mousefoot was nowhere to be seen. She's not on the territory, that's clear by now." Frostclaw explained.

Nightstar gave him a long glance. "How big are the chances that she might have been captured by AlliesClan?"

Vinepaw's stomach lurched at the thought.

The snow-white tom opened his jaws to answer, but he remained silence as the gorse tunnel began to rustle loudly and a hunting patrol entered the camp, their fur bristled and teeth bared. Dawnpelt stomped over to Nightstar and dropped a half-eaten bird.

"Look at what we found on our territory!" The cream-and-white tom growled.

Nightstar's blue eyes darkened. "AlliesClan?!"

"There was even more and unburied bones, as well! They're making fun of us and take our prey!" The warrior went on. Other cats began to gather around them, looking uncomfortable.

"What are we going to do, Nightstar?"

"We should have taught them a lesson when we met three of their cats on our territory!"

"Let's attack them!"

Vinepaw threw her head around. All the cats were bristling and hissing, tension rising among the clan.

"Tomorrow is the night of the Gathering. I will hear what Eaglestar has to say to that." Nightstar spoke loud enough for every cat to hear him. His voice was absolute.

* * *

Vinepaw's paws were trembling with gleeful anticipation. She and Tomatopaw had been chosen to go to the Gathering that night and she still couldn't believe it. Nightstar had only chosen a few cats to go, in case AlliesClan would attack the camp while they were gone. Ravenwing, Batfang, Sorrelheart, Mudstep, Finstream and Sunblaze had been chosen, the rest stayed there, but they weren't all too happy. Many cats had complained about wanting to be there, when Nightstar would accuse Eaglestar.

Nightstar led the patrol outside and through the territory to the slope, where the ground would sink and then would be parted from the main land by two streams. Nightstar stood on the edge of the slope and cast a long glance down. Vinepaw tasted the air. It was fresh and a bit cool, but the missing scent of AlliesClan told her that the other clan had not yet come.

Suddenly she noticed how Nightstar's appearance had changed, as he was standing there, bathed in silver moonlight. His blue eyes were shining brightly and his short gray fur was dyed in a silver color. She noticed for the first time how handsome he was. A blush crept onto her face as she studied him and only had to painfully tear her gaze away, when she noticed something poking into her ribs.

"Hey, mouse-brain, listen when I talk to you!" Tomatopaw growled, but then Nightstar gave the signal with his tail and raced down to the Gathering place, the patrol quickly following. Vinepaw did her best to keep up with the cats.

Then she froze in awe. The two giant oaks were bathed in silver moonlight and there was dew laying on top of the blades of grass, which glistened in the light. It was beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!

Vinepaw's amber eyes shone brightly as she followed the other cats of her clan to the middle. Nightstar sprang onto the large rock in the middle, wrapping his tail neatly over his front paws, and Frostclaw sat down in front of it, giving his chest fur a couple of licks. The black-and-white she-cat, Ravenwing, crouched down on one of the roots of the ancient oaks.

The air was filled with a new scent, AlliesClan. Vinepaw twisted her head to see several cats streaming onto the clearing. A fluffy, big, white tom led the cats through the bushes and took his place next to Nightstar on the giant rock. Chills ran down Vinepaw's spine as she gazed right into the violet eyes of a large brown tom with a long, fluffy pelt. They were filled with a lot of emotions, innocence, sadness, happiness, pride, anger, anxiety. It was like drowning in their depth and Vinepaw suppressed yet another shiver. Quickly she averted her gaze and stumbled right into a small white she-cat.

"Ah, sorry!" She quickly muttered.

"It's okay." The white she-cat answered. Vinepaw studied her. Her ear tips and tail tips were black and she had bright amber eyes. "I'm Smallpaw. Who are you?"

"I'm Vinepaw. That's my first Gathering."

"I see! Well, then come and meet my brother." Smallpaw suggested and padded off, Vinepaw happily followed. There were many different cats. Cats with long pelts. Cats with short pelts. Brown cats, black cats, white cats. Slender cats, muscular cats. All different kinds of cats. Vinepaw was impressed.

After a moment, Smallpaw stopped in front of a long-legged black-and-white tom who was cheerfully chatting with Finstream and a cat from the other clan she didn't know.

"That's Shadepaw." Smallpaw meowed. "And his mentor Brackenfang." Brackenfang nodded curtly and Vinepaw returned the greeting. He had a thick brown pelt, she noticed, with a white tail tip and his neck was white, as well, though Vinepaw noticed how thin the cats from the other clan were. His green eyes were dull with hunger. Vinepaw felt sorry for him.

"Let the Gathering begin!" The AlliesClan leader yowled loudly, loud enough for every cat to hear. Vinepaw noticed that his voice was rather cheerful. "Nightstar, would you like to begin?"

"Yes, thank you." Nightstar nodded and stepped forward. "Prey is running well in our territory and all of our cats are well fed. We haven't seen a single trace of Twolegs." His voice was calm, but Vinepaw could feel the tension among the Axis. The Allies didn't seem to guess anything, though. "But our life is not peaceful. We have found traces that prey from our territory has been stolen."

Immediately the AlliesClan cats broke into loud yowls of protest.

"That's not true!"

"We haven't stolen your prey!"

"Liars!"

Nightstar waved his tail and waited until it got silent, before he motioned to the AlliesClan leader. "Eaglestar, what do you have to say?"

Eaglestar stared at Nightstar, blue slits of distrust. "None of my cats have stolen any of your prey and we have nothing to do with the disappearance of your cat."

The AxisClan cats growled and yowled, "Nightstar didn't say anything about a cat that has disappeared!"

"So you confirm that you have captured Mousefoot?" Nightstar asked, his neck fur bristling.

Eaglestar snorted. "If you can't keep your cats' mouths shut, that's not my problem."

"Do you say that there is a traitor among my cats?!" Nightstar hissed.

Eaglestar didn't answer, but simply bared his teeth and unsheathed his claws.

Vinepaw ducked down, her fur fluffed up. All those friendly cats looked so scary now with their bared teeth and unsheathed claws. Smallpaw, who had chatted with her so casually, now seemed like a completely different cat.

Suddenly, the clearing was bathed in darkness, as clouds covered the moon.

"It's a sign! It's a sign from StarClan! We must stop fighting!" Ravenwing called and the voices died down, though the tension was still there.

"I assure you, Nightstar, we have nothing to do with all these things. I remember telling ya about the foxes on our territory. Maybe they did all those things, but we didn't do that." Eaglestar stated, his blue eyes serious. "We may be troubled, but we wouldn't sink as low as filthy prey-stealers."

The two leaders exchanged a long glance, before Nightstar closed his eyes and sighed. "I'll take you upon that, Eaglestar."

The fluffy white leader turned to address the cats of both clans. "Although prey is rare, AlliesClan is managing. We have already led several patrols to attack the foxes and hope to see the last of them soon." Eaglestar spoke and the cats seemed to finally begin to relax again. They were exchanging some news, but the tension still remained.

Vinepaw noticed Frostclaw padding over to the she-cat who had once visited their camp when she was younger. The medicine cat of AlliesClan, but what was her name again? Maple … Maple … Maplewhisper? Yes, Maplewhisper was her name. The two cats greeted each other and then disappeared behind some bramble thicket, though they seemed to make sure that no cat noticed them. Vinepaw's ears twitched. Why were they acting so mysterious? She had to fight the urge to follow them, and was about to pad after them, when she heard some cat calling her name. The she-cat turned around to see Nightstar padding over to her.

"Vinepaw, come with me for a moment." The dark gray tom meowed and began padding over to some quiet spot behind some brambles.

Vinepaw blinked. What could he possibly want? Interested she followed him and sat down, looking at her leader with big eyes.

There was something in his eyes, she noticed, and once again she realized just how handsome the big tom was.

"What do you think about this all?" He asked all of a sudden. Vinepaw let out a _mrrow_ of surprise. Why did he ask her all of a sudden?

"Uh … well … um … I think he's saying the truth." She muttered, obviously feeling unwell under the tom's now stern gaze.

"What makes you think so?"

Vinepaw bit her tongue. She didn't know why exactly, she just knew it. She just had the feeling. "I don't really know … they all look so desperate and I don't think they would lie." She began.

Nightstar gazed at her for a heartbeat, before his gaze began to soften. "You really are something." He touched her ear with his muzzle, before joining the other cats on the main clearing. Vinepaw stared after him with wide-opened mouth and a small blush on her face. Happily she got up and followed him, keeping her eyes open for Tomatopaw, but her sister was nowhere to be seen. Disappointed her tail drooped.

_Where is she?_ Vinepaw asked herself and walked around, searching her sister. While she was looking for her, she heard some voices.

" … _can't do_ …"

Vinepaw pricked her ears. She knew that voice. Straining her hearing she tried to make out where the voices came from.

"_But I … worry … we can …_"

_"No, it won't work out. It will only cause problems."_

Vinepaw peeked over a bramble thicket to see Frostclaw and Maplewhisper standing close together.

"But I love you!" Frostclaw despairingly meowed.

Vinepaw froze. Maplewhisper was a cat from another clan! And she was a medicine cat!

"I love you, too, Frostclaw, but I told you, we cannot love each other." Maplewhisper's voice was full of sorrow. The two cats stared at each other and Vinepaw decided it would be better to leave before some cat spotted her eavesdropping. Instead she decided to look for Tomatopaw once again.

Then finally she spotted her among some warriors. Sorrelheart and Mudstep from AxisClan and two warriors from AlliesClan. She recognized the brown pelt of Brackenfang who she had met before already. The other cat was a light brown-and-white she-cat with piercing blue eyes.

"Your daughters have really grown big, Sorrelheart." Brackenfang remarked.

Sorrelheart purred. "Yes, they have. I heard you have a kit of your own … um … Quiverkit, was it?"

Brackenfang shifted his paws. "Yes, he's almost five moons old already." He let out a sigh. "They grow up so fast."

Sorrelheart nodded and brightened, when she spotted Vinepaw padding over. At the same time a yowl resounded from across the clearing.

"The Gathering is over." Nightstar announced and gathered his cats around him with a quick movement of his tail. Vinepaw turned around to see Frostclaw padding over to them, an expression of guilt on his face, though he visibly relaxed, when he was standing next to Nightstar and muttering something to him.

Nightstar led his cats away from the Gathering place and to the camp. The tension had been gone by now and even though the AxisClan cats were still discussing among themselves, if the AlliesClan leader had been saying the truth, it was much more relaxed than before.

"Wait!" Nightstar called and brought the cats to a halt. Vinepaw looked up at the leader with confusion in her amber eyes. Why did he stop? Then realization hit her when she saw a bundle of fur laying about a fox-length ahead of them on the dusty ground. She wrinkled her nose as a strange smell hit her nose and she gagged.

"What is that smell?"

Sorrelheart, who was walking next to her and Tomatopaw, gasped. "Blood."

Ahead of them, fur wet with bright red blood, was laying the motionless body of Mousefoot.

* * *

Dun dun dun! I really like cliffhangers! Next chapter will finally be from Maplewhisper's POV again!

Hasta la pasta!


	10. Chapter Eight

Sorry for the long wait D: The next chapter of Don't Leave Me will follow soon, too, but I've been so busy lately. The exams are coming soon and we're pretty busy at school and all D: Anyways, here's chapter eight!

R&R please!

* * *

Maplewhisper stared into Frostclaw's bright red eyes, as he padded to her with a big squirrel in his jaws. He laid it down next to her and rubbed his chin at her cheek, then carefully sniffed at the little bundle of fur that lay close to her belly and was suckling. It had white fur with light silver tabby stripes. Their little son. Birdkit had they named him and he was their pride and joy. Purring softly the little tabby was pressing with his tiny paws against Maplewhisper's belly. Frostclaw lay down next to her and they entangled their tails. Maplewhisper couldn't be any happier. She had a mate. She had a kit. She was free from her duties as a medicine cat. Even though she missed her clan and her brother, she was so incredibly happy and couldn't wish for more.

"I love you." Frostclaw purred.

She leaned against him. "I love you too." She whispered and closed her eyes, breathing in his sweet scent that no longer had the strange bitterness of AxisClan scent.

The white she-cat didn't know how much time had passed, since Frostclaw and she had left. Since they left their clans to be together. It would have been against the warrior code and the medicine cat code, if they had stayed in their clans. Cats from different clans were not allowed to be mates and medicine cats in general weren't allowed to have mates. Those codes were ancient, as old as the clans, and every cat did their best to live after these rules, but Maplewhisper couldn't have helped her feelings for the handsome AxisClan warrior and decided to run away with him. She had realized that it had been the best thing she had ever done. They were happy together with a kit of their own in a new territory with lots of prey.

But she couldn't help missing her old home. Her clan. Her friends. Her kin. She wondered what had happened to both clans since the two of them had left. Were they able to drive out the foxes? Or did they kill every single of the clan cats?

Maplewhisper's stomach lurched at that thought and she shook her head to push it to the edge of her mind. She wouldn't ruin her good mood with some thoughts about something that might not even have happened. It was better to think that everything was fine at her old home.

Above them, the sky was dark blue, almost black, and the moon was only a thin, white claw scratch. Many tiny white specks of light, stars, were dancing and shining like tiny jewels. Maplewhisper wondered if those were still her ancestors in StarClan, or if those were just ordinary stars. Specks of light which were nothing but beautiful. Beautiful but silent.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Maplewhisper sighed and stared into Frostclaw's crimson red eyes.

"Yeah, I wonder how my brother's dealing with the clan. Wonder if the apprentices are warriors yet." He closed his eyes for a heartbeat. "I wonder if they're remembering us, at all. It's been so many moons since we left them."

"Sometimes I wonder if it was the right choice." Maplewhisper froze. She hadn't intended those words to leave her lips.

Frostclaw glanced at her. "Do you regret this?"

"No, not at all. Sometimes … I just wonder … I wonder what would have happened, if we hadn't left our clans." She confessed and opened her jaws in a yawn.

"It's getting late. We should sleep." Frostclaw licked over her cheek and then began to rhythmically lick over her back, making her sleepy. She rested her head on her forepaws and slowly but surely sank into sleep.

"Maplewhisper … Maplewhisper …" A voice, strangely familiar, called out to her. It got louder and louder with each call and somehow she felt as if she recognized that voice. It belonged to a cat she had known when she was still living in her clan.

"Maplewhisper, wake up!"

The white she-cat jolted awake and blinked in confusion, as the forest where she, Frostclaw and Birdkit had been, had disappeared and she noticed that she was in her den. Frostclaw and Birdkit were both gone, not even their scents remained in her nose.

_It had all been a dream … Frostclaw and I have never left our clans and Birdkit has never been born._ She sighed heavily as she blinked sleep out of her eyes and rose to her paws, shaking bits of moss out of her thick, fluffy pelt. _It had all been just a dream …_

The cat who had called her was her brother. His tail was waving and he had a grin on his face. Maplewhisper wondered why he was so happy.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

Eaglestar grinned. "Just a good day. Let's go out for a while. Haven't done that for moons!"

Maplewhisper blinked. "Just the two of us?"

"Yeah! Just me and ya!"

The two cats left the camp which was so peaceful. Maplewhisper smiled, but her heart hurt as she remembered her dream in which she had been together with Frostclaw, with a kit of her own. Her dream in which she had been so happy. Another sigh escaped her lips.

Above them, the sun was shining and casting its bright light onto the earth. Several rays trickled through the canopy and cast bright patches onto the ground, looking like bright dapples on a dark fur. Just a few white tufts of cloud were hanging lazily in the light blue sky. A warm breeze ruffled her fur. Greenleaf was coming, she noticed and brightened. It was such a beautiful morning.

They were padding silently, side by side, through the forest. The forest was filled with the twittering of birds. After a while Eaglestar stopped at a clearing, where he settled down and motioned with his tail for Maplewhisper to join him. She sat down next to him, her bushy tail wrapped neatly around her small forepaws. In front of them was a river, its quiet murmurs filled the air. She remembered when it had flooded and they were forced out of their home, because it was too dangerous and they would have all drowned. Maplewhisper shivered, as the memory came back to her mind, and she quickly pushed it away. It was so beautiful and quiet out here, she didn't want to ruin her mood with old memories.

"So, what do you have on your mind, Eaglestar?" Maplewhisper asked after listening to the river telling them its story, however with words she could not understand.

She heard Eaglestar taking a deep breath. "There's something troubling me. I had yet again another nightmare. A terrible nightmare." He confessed. "Firetail urged me to tell you." A short but troubled laughter escaped his lips. Maplewhisper blinked at him, eager to find out about her brother's nightmare. He raised his head to gaze into the sky. "It's always the same dream. I stand on a hill and everything around me is peaceful. Then suddenly, the sky darkens and I can hear thunder roaring. A huge wave of blood floods everything and it always threatens to drown me. I can see all the other cats dying in front of me, but I can't do anything to help them. It's always the same. They all always die." His voice died down and he glanced at his sister with eyes full of worry and grief. "And I always see our mother. She always comes and says me that there is nothing I can do." Maplewhisper felt grief rising in her, threatening to knock her off her paws. Their mother had died in the flood two years ago.

Maplewhisper leaned closer and buried her nose in his flank.

"What can I do, Maplewhisper? I want to be a hero. I want to save everyone. I can't just stay there and watch it happen, over and over again."

That reminded her of a story of their past, when she and Eaglestar were still young warriors. A tragedy had happened. The worst outbreak of greencough had weakened the clan, but the remedies were short. A pack of dogs had moved to their territory and hunted the cats like prey. Maplewhisper remembered that it was the worst thing she had ever encountered. Eaglestar had tricked the dogs into a trap, defeated the dogs with his wit and incredible strength and had saved the clans, not just AlliesClan. He had been celebrated as a hero and had even won the heart of Firetail, his beloved mate.

Maplewhisper was so proud of her brother. If it wasn't for him, neither of the clans were still there, living in peace. Or what could be considered as peace. Most of them would have been killed, brutally murdered and slaughtered, and the rest of them would have been driven out.

"And you thought it might be a message from StarClan, right?" Maplewhisper asked him.

Eaglestar nodded. "Yes. Have they spoken to you lately?"

But the she-cat could do nothing but shake her head. "Our ancestors remained silent." She whispered and with a pang, she realized that she might lose her connection to StarClan, because she had broken the medicine cat code and had fallen in love with another cat. She swallowed hard. _That must be the case. Why else would they remain silent in a situation like this?_

Eaglestar rose to his paws and stretched, his muscles playing under his thick pelt. "Thanks for listening to me, Maplewhisper. I feel a whole lot better now that I've talked with you about that. I don't know what I would do without you." He licked her cheek.

Maplewhisper felt bad all of a sudden. In her dreams she always left her clan, but now she realized that they all needed her. That her brother needed her. If Frostclaw would really ask her to leave with him, would she be able to actually leave her life in the clan behind?

* * *

Birdkit would be New Prussia, by the way.

This chapter is a bit shorter and I wanted to write something with Maplewhisper. I really like her and I like to make her life complicated! Next chapter will be with AxisClan again. Look forward to it!

Hasta la pasta~


	11. Chapter Nine

Finally an update! Sorry it took so long D:

R&R please!

* * *

Tomatopaw shivered. That motionless heap of fur in front of them was definitely Mousefoot. The cream-and-brown she-cat suppressed the urge to gag at the sight of the bloody mess. What in the world had attacked the she-cat and left her wounded like that?

"Ravenwing, quick! She's still alive!" Nightstar yowled and the small medicine cat joined him within heartbeats.

"But I need my remedies. Otherwise I won't be able to help her." Ravenwing stated. "We need to get her back to camp as quickly as possible."

Tomatopaw stumbled out of the way as the warriors gathered around Mousefoot, helping to get the she-cat back to camp. She exchanged a worried look with her sister. Somehow, the idea of going to a Gathering had been more fun before they went there. It had been completely different than she had imagined. She was actually quite disappointed.

The walk back to the camp was quick, Mousefoot needed help as quickly as possible, or else the she-cat would die. Every cat knew that.

They stormed into the camp and quickly brought Mousefoot to the medicine den. The turmoil they were making seemed to have woken the other cats, as they were emerging their dens and gathering around the patrol. They froze and stared with wide-opened eyes at the injured she-cat.

"Who did this?"

"What happened to her?"

"How could something like this happen?"

Tomatopaw noticed the lean shape of Batfang stumbling into the medicine den, right after Ravenwing. Perhaps the two of them were closer than one might expect?

Nightstar climbed up the ancient willow and sat down on one of the branches, signaling with his tail that the others should calm down. After some moments the commotion died down and every cat was looking up at Nightstar, their eyes clouded with anxiety.

Nightstar let his gaze sweep over his clan. "Eaglestar said he and his clan had nothing to do with the prey-stealing and with Mousefoot's disappearance. As you all know by now, Mousefoot has been found seriously injured and Ravenwing is currently taking care of her. We do not know, what exactly has attacked her, but it might be those foxes that Eaglestar had talked about earlier."

The cats began to discuss Nightstar's words loudly. Many shocked and terrified mews could be heard and the commotion became louder and louder.

Tomatopaw's pelt prickled with anticipation and she swallowed hard, until she felt a tail wrapped around her. She snapped her head around to see her mentor, Passionpool, staring down at her with a worried look in his eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure that no one else gets hurt." He told her with a serious voice, though he looked alarmed, as well.

The she-cat blinked at him, then her eyes lit up with anger. "I'm not a small kit anymore! I don't need your help, mouse-brain!" She growled, but her mentor seemed unaffected by it. He simply glanced at her for a few heartbeats, before looking at Nightstar again.

Nightstar raised his tail to silence the alarmed crowd. "At any rate, we must all keep our eyes open and ears pricked. Apprentices may only leave the camp when they're with warriors and I want a guard in the camp all the time. Cats may only leave the camp in groups of at least three cats. If you find anything unusual, anything strange, inform Frostclaw or me immediately. Whatever this danger is, we must take care. We must not lose any of our cats."

* * *

Tomatopaw opened one bleary eye. Around her, she made out the pale silhouette of her sister, Vinepaw. She was still peacefully sleeping. Rising to her paws, she gave herself a quick wash, before leaving the den and stretching outside, where she was greeted by the first sun rays. The clearing was silent and peaceful. Just a few cats were already awake. Snowpaw was grooming herself just a tail-length away from the apprentices' den, while Icepaw was standing in front of the warriors' den, calling out his mentor's name. The white she-cat noticed Tomatopaw and gestured her with her tail to join her. Tomatopaw did as she was told and sat down next to the older apprentice.

"Today's Icepaw and my assessment. If we pass, we'll become warriors." The she-cat began, her voice somewhat heavy with something Tomatopaw couldn't make out, "Sometimes I wonder if that's all okay."

She blinked at the fluffy white cat. What did she mean? She opened her mouth to ask, but the she-cat simply went on, "Life is quite hard and it's hard to get acknowledged by your clanmates. Though we wish to spend our lives without wasting anything, we do live quite lavish. The warrior code tells us to take only what we need, and yet we take more. We take the miracles that life gives us as granted and just end up throwing everything away." She sighed heavily. "Life is always so hard and unfair." She averted her gaze, before looking at Tomatopaw. "I'm sorry if I confused you. Never mind."

Tomatopaw watched the she-cat stalking over to join her brother and her mentor in front of the warriors' den, still wondering what she had meant. It was as if her words had another meaning, not for her, but for someone else.

"Tomatopaw, good to see that you're awake!" She turned her head to see her mentor Passionpool walking toward her. "I was just about to wake you. Let's go hunting. Snowpaw and Icepaw will have their assessment today, but you won't bother them. Come on!"

Muttering something under her breath, she followed her mentor out of the camp.

* * *

Sunlit dew lay on every leaf of the bramble thicket Tomatopaw sniffed at. There was a faint scent of vole hanging in the air, but she was still too tired to actually think about hunting.

"Well, Tomatopaw, what can you scent?" Passionpool asked, his mouth slightly parted.

"Dunno. I'm tired and hungry." She growled.

Her mentor blinked at her. "Y-you do know in which position you are, right?! You're an apprentice and you have to follow your mentor's orders."

The she-cat let out a sigh and stared at her mentor.

"Okay. So, what can you scent?"

Tomatopaw tasted the air and the scent of vole grew stronger. Her nose twitched as another scent mixed with the vole's scent.

"Yucky! What's that weird smell?!" She hissed, covering her nose with her paw.

Passionpool tasted the air and his eyes widened with alarm. "A dog!" He hissed. "But they're usually not a threat for us, because they come with their Twolegs and then leave again. It's okay, you don't have to be scared. The dog won't do anything." He leaned forward to touch her flank with his tail tip, but she jumped out of the way, bristling.

"Don't touch me!"

"Is there anything beside the dog scent?"

"Yes, vole scent."

They looked at each other for some heartbeats, before she noticed his ears twitching in annoyance.

"Well, then what are you waiting for?" He asked, but she simply raised an eyebrow at him. "We're out hunting!" He reminded her.

A growl rising in her throat, she picked up the scent again and tried to track it down. Then she spotted the tiny creature, sitting on a root and gnawing on a seed. At once she dropped and tried to do her best to imitate the hunter's crouch that Passionpool had shown her so often, and she slowly but surely stalked forward, careful that the vole didn't see her. When she was just a tail-length away, she unleashed the power in her hind legs and flung herself at the vole. But when she looked at her paws, the tiny creature wasn't there. Growling in frustration she turned around to see her mentor carefully watching her.

"What?!"

Passionpool didn't seem affected by her aggressive tone. "Your tail gave you away. It was brushing the leaves, so the vole scented you. And it could smell you, because you didn't pay attention to the wind's direction."

She shot an angry glance at him.

"I'm just pointing out your mistakes, so you know what you did wrong and so that you can improve." He gently told her. "And don't look as miserable as sin. Every cat could have made that mistake."

_Yeah, but it had to be me!_ She thought bitterly.

"Come, let's go and see if we can find anything else."

* * *

By the time the two of them went back to camp, the sun was already high above their heads. Passionpool had suggested a break, because both of them were quite hungry. Although he didn't seem satisfied with the amount of fresh-kill Tomatopaw had caught. He had caught a blackbird and three voles, while all she had caught was a sparrow. Nothing else. Just one scrawny sparrow.

They arrived at the camp to see it bursting with life. Snowpaw and Icepaw were chatting happily in front of the apprentices' den, while their mentors, Dawnpelt and Finstream, were just disappeared behind the lichens that covered the entrance to Nightstar's den. Ravenwing emerged from her den, stretching her legs and padding over to the fresh-kill pile where Sandmask and Mudstep were already eating, snapping at each other. Her parents were sharing tongues in front of the warriors' den.

The two cats dropped their prey on the fresh-kill pile. Guilt flooded her like a wave. All she had caught was just a sparrow, what use did a single sparrow have? Her mentor caught so much more than her.

In that moment she saw her sister entering the camp with Frostclaw and Batfang beside her. Vinepaw was carrying a squirrel that was almost as big as herself. Frostclaw was carrying two shrews and three blackbirds, while Batfang was carrying a large carp.

Tomatopaw's heart sank and she felt envy gnawed at her belly. Everyone else caught more than her, even her own mouse-brained sister.

"Wow, that's a huge squirrel, Vinepaw! Did you catch it all by yourself?" Sorrelheart called over to her daughter.

"Yeah, she was pretty awesome! I was impressed!" Frostclaw grinned as he dropped his load on the pile.

Vinepaw looked a bit embarrassed, but happy to be praised. "Ve~"

A yowl resounded from the ancient willow. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the ancient willow for a clan meeting!"

The cats gathered and sat down beneath the willow, their eyes fixed on the AxisClan leader. Nightstar stared proudly at his cats.

"Cats of AxisClan, I have an announcement to make." His voice was serious. "Today was Icepaw and Snowpaw's final assessment and they did perfectly fine. However, they cannot be made into warriors today."

Murmurs broke into loud protests. Tomatopaw turned her head to see Icepaw staring at the leader with wide-opened mouth, while Snowpaw shifted her paws, guilt clouding her eyes.

"What?"

"Why not?"

"They deserve to be warriors!"

Nightstar gestured with his tail for the cats to be silent. "They deserve it, of course, and they will soon be made into warriors, however, something has happened today." Not a single cat dared to make a single noise. Everyone stared at him with big eyes, eager to find out what happened. "Snowpaw, tell the clan what you saw."

Snowpaw padded forward and stood on one of the willow's roots. She looked uneasy and troubled, her white pelt ruffled. "I was chasing after a squirrel, when I spotted some Twolegs at the edge of our territory. They were shouting at each other, but I couldn't understand anything. It was really scary!"

The cats were listening to the she-cat's story. She was fluffing up her fur, so that she looked twice her size.

"But they were not alone."

"What do you mean?" A voice asked.

Snowpaw swallowed hard and her body began to shiver. "They had a dog." Her voice was barely more than a whisper. Tomatopaw drew in a sharp breath and found her eyes staring into Passionpool's, as she turned around. Her own distress was reflected in his forest-green eyes. They had smelled a dog before and it had been very close at that moment.

"Just a dog?"

"Twolegs often have dogs."

The fluffy white cat shook her head. "It was different. It was not like normal dogs. It had a short grayish skin, no fur at all, and it was skinny and I could see its bones sticking out. Its eyes were black, completely black, like the darkest night. And you should have seen its fangs …" She seemed to suppress a shiver. "The Twolegs gave it something that looked like a cat, and the beast buried its teeth in it and … and …" Her voice died down, followed by a shocked gasp, as the she-cat stumbled and collapsed. Ravenwing rushed to her side, followed by Icepaw, Dawnpelt and Finstream.

"It's getting worse again. Dawnpelt, help me carry her to my den." Ravenwing spoke and wanted to help Snowpaw to her paws, but Dawnpelt shooed her out of the way and grabbed the white she-cat by the scruff, carrying her like a kit. Icepaw padded after them, his violet eyes clouded with worry and fear for his sister.

The rest of the clan stared for a heartbeat after them, before Nightstar cleared his throat to get their attention again.

"We must all be careful. That dog sounds like a real threat and it might be the same thing that had attacked Mousefoot."

The clan broke out into shocked protests and loud yowls. Panic rose among them, and Tomatopaw found herself leaning against the cat behind her. Passionpool. A sigh escaped her lips and she pressed closer against him. His tail wrapped around her protectively.

Thoughts about that savage creature sent chills up and down her spine. Would they be hunted like prey in their own territory? Would that creature sneak up on them and then brutally murder them? Or maybe that dog was not going to stay permanently on their territory. Snowpaw had said that it had come with its Twolegs after all. Maybe they were gone by now.

At least that was what Tomatopaw hoped.

The she-cat raised her head to look at Nightstar, but the dark gray tom was already about to be swallowed by the darkness of his den, however, he shot one last glance at his cats.

Tomatopaw froze.

The AxisClan leader looked at them with a weird look in his eyes.

It was as if he expected the creature to jump out of nowhere right at them.

The look was …

haunted.

* * *

Oh noes, what's wrong with Nightstar and why doesn't he appoint Snowpaw and Icepaw as warriors? What is this strange dog that terrorizes the cats? Will it destroy the Clans?

Well, you will find out in the later chapters!

Hasta la pasta!


	12. Chapter Ten

Ciao, everyone~

Here is the new chapter of Warritalia, from Maplewhisper's POV again :3

Enjoy and R&R please!

* * *

Stifling a sigh, Maplewhisper pushed herself through the gap in the bramble thicket that shielded queens and kits inside the nursery from view, weather, and danger. Mooncloud was inside, her three kits sleeping peacefully. Quiverkit watched over her belly at the kits, his ears pricked. Ponystep had left the nursery for a moment to stretch her legs.

Water drops dripped down Maplewhisper's whiskers, as she laid down the borage in front of the lithe black she-cat.

"Borage again? Thanks, Maplewhisper," said the black she-cat and began chewing the leaves.

Maplewhisper bent down and sniffed at the three bundles of fur. One of them was a dark tortoiseshell she-kit, Spottedkit. The other two kits were toms, Blackkit, a black tom like Mooncloud, and Brindlekit, a fluffy, dark brown tabby tom. They were healthy and strong kits, Maplewhisper was sure they would become great warriors later. With a pang she remembered her dream again, in which she had had a kit of her own, together with Frostclaw.

Maplewhisper felt that sadness rising in her body again.

_Oh, StarClan. Why does your path have to be so difficult? Why can't you just allow Frostclaw and me to be together?_ She silently pleaded, but received no answer. Maybe she would get an answer on the night of the half moon. _Maybe._

The she-cat checked on her and Quiverkit, before leaving the nursery. Her stomach growled and she decided to get something from the fresh-kill pile. It was still early and she spotted the dawn patrol entering the camp and heading straight to Eaglestar. Maplewhisper took a sparrow and then engulfed it in a few hungry bites.

"It's going to be a problem, if this goes on." Dimstorm sighed heavily.

"The foxes may be gone, but this is a lot worse!" Rosewhisker growled. "That piece of fox-dung is going to wipe us out."

"We won't let it go this far." Eaglestar promised.

"Can you be sure?" Firetail asked. "We once encountered such a situation, but how can we be sure that everything will turn out okay?"

Eaglestar licked her cheek affectionately. "I'm going to protect us all again. I'm the hero, after all!"

"You mouse-brain, it's too dangerous!"

"I have to agree with Firetail for once. It's too dangerous." The long-furred, cream tom said thoughtfully.

After finishing her meal, she padded over to the discussing cats.

"What are you talking about?" Maplewhisper asked. Her fur prickled, a tense atmosphere filled the camp.

Rosewhisker swallowed. "A new threat on our territory. Do you remember that we found half-eaten prey and bones on our territory?"

Maplewhisper nodded.

"Well, we might have found the cause."

"I thought the foxes did all of that?"

Firetail hit the ground with her tail. "But they're gone since some sunrises." The ginger-white she-cat shook her head. "No. Something did that and we were able to shoot a glance at it."

"It was a gray dog without any fur and deep scars across its body. Those completely black eyes …" Dimstorm suppressed a shiver.

"It's nothing a cat wants to encounter. Just imagine you're hunting and it suddenly appears right in front of your eyes …" Firetail muttered.

"But it's a dog, so you should be able to hear it, right?"

"That's the point. You can't hear that dog, it appears without making any noise. We've watched it several times. It just seems to appear out of thin air." Dimstorm explained.

Maplewhisper exchanged a long glance with her brother. Could that be the thing that StarClan had warned them about? That ominous dream of Eaglestar? That warning that a bloody wave would wash away everything. That would kill everything.

A scream split the air and Maplewhisper let out a _mrrow_ of shock, as the scream was mixed with the sound of fighting cats. Her heart thumped fast against her ribcage, as the noises grew louder and louder.

The shape of a big, muscular cat stumbled into the clearing, bright red blood wetting his brown fur. Bearclaw. In his violet eyes burnt the fire of battle. There was something in his jaws, a bushy ginger tail. He smirked as he dropped the tail.

"There was still a fox on our territory. I taught it a lesson it will never forget." Bearclaw smiled. A shiver ran down Maplewhisper's spine. The big tom was … well … uh … creepy? Maybe that was the word. Creepy. Yes, creepy described him well.

_Just too well_. She thought, suppressing a shiver.

Eaglestar let out a loud laugh. "Great job, Bearclaw!" He grinned.

Maplewhisper stared at her brother with wide-opened mouth. Firetail smacked him and hissed, "You're a real mouse-brain, you know that?!"

But Eaglestar only laughed again. "I love you too, Firetail." Turning his head to look at the others, he added, "We have to keep our eyes open, but I'm sure everything will turn out fine."

* * *

A yawn escaped Maplewhisper's lips. It was the night of the half moon and the medicine cats of both clans met each half moon to communicate with StarClan. There was no sign of Ravenwing yet, Maplewhisper wondered if she would show up. The moon hung high in the air. It was already getting late, and they'd have to hurry or else they'd be late and Maplewhisper wasn't sure if StarClan would forgive them. But that wasn't the only thing Maplewhisper was worried about. She needed to speak with StarClan. She had to ask her ancestors if they knew anything about the danger, the dog that threatened her clan. It was important and she didn't want to waste the opportunity and then would have to wait another moon for the next chance.

_No_, she told herself determinedly, _I have to ask them. I have to find out what is happening and why it's happening._

Just as the white she-cat was about to leave on her own, the ferns rustled and the dark shape of Ravenwing, barely visible in the darkness, stepped out.

"I'm sorry for being late, but I was quite busy," The she-cat apologized, "let's go now."

With that being said, the two she-cats set off, their pace quickening soon. They had to hurry. Above them the stars of Silverpelt gleamed brightly, guiding their way through the long dark night. Maplewhisper wasn't sure how she could ask Ravenwing if something had happened. There was something going on, she knew that. They had seen that dog on their own territory and she was beginning to wonder if AxisClan had problems with it, as well. Surely this dog wouldn't just terrorize one clan, would it? Or was it a bad omen that came from StarClan to warn AlliesClan? And what if it was one, could she simply tell Ravenwing about it? She was a medicine cat, too, and the white she-cat was more than sure that she wouldn't leak any information to her own clan just to give them a chance to attack AlliesClan. But she knew she couldn't tell her about that or ask her if the same thing was happening in her own clan. Maybe she'd speak with her ancestors first, and then talk to Ravenwing. Yes, she would do that.

As soon as they arrived at the place where they could communicate with StarClan, the Moonpool, a tiny lake that shone with the light of the stars each night and where leaders also received their nine lives, Maplewhisper laid down, eyes closed, and lapped at the water, before feeling dizziness washing over her like a wave.

When she opened her eyes again, the familiar forest around her was gone. She was standing on an open field, a warm breeze ruffling her fur. She looked around, but she couldn't tell where she was. Never before had she been there. There weren't any cats, either. Not a living cat, not a cat from StarClan. She was all alone. Raising her head, she tasted the air, but it smelled of nothing. Not a single scent hit her nose. Neither of the warm breeze, nor of the flowers growing on the ground. Straining her ears she could hear the quiet singing of some birds in the distance. Above her the warriors of StarClan danced in the sky, only visible as tiny specks of light.

_I am dreaming? If I am, then where is StarClan?_

Suddenly an earsplitting scream cut through the air. Whirling around, the white she-cat spotted a big, dark silhouette standing about three tail-lengths away from her, but it didn't seem to notice her. It was as if it was staring right through her, with its big eyes as dark as the night. Although Maplewhisper couldn't see it very clearly, she was more than sure that had to be the danger, that strange dog, that terrorized her clan. Its fangs were enormous, she noticed with a shiver, able to crushing a cat's skull easily and without any problems.

"Do not fear, young one. This creature serves no threat," said a voice painfully familiar, "At least it won't do any harm here."

Maplewhisper snapped her head around to see a dark brownish-red she-cat standing next to her. Tears blurred her vision. Nativeleaf, her mother, had come to her. Even though Maplewhisper was a medicine cat for many moons, she hadn't met her mother very often and was always very delighted when she met her in a dream.

"What in StarClan's name is this dog and why is it? Why does it terrorize us like that?" Maplewhisper asked, her eyes narrowed in sorrow as all these horrible thoughts flashed through her mind.

Nativeleaf sighed. "I cannot tell you, my dear daughter. Even we of StarClan do not know everything. If I could I'd tell you, but all I can do is warn you to be careful."

Maplewhisper's fur bristled. "Do you mean we're left on our own to face this terrible danger?!"

The old she-cat blinked, her eyes filled with warmth. "Of course not. We would never leave you to walk this path alone. To face this danger alone. All of StarClan stands behind you and your clan, as well as behind Ravenwing and her clan."

"Even our ancestors stand behind AxisClan?" Maplewhisper's violet eyes were widened in surprise. She hadn't expected that.

Nativeleaf nodded. "There are no boundaries in StarClan. Here, we are one big family. There may be two different clans, two different worlds down there, but there is only one big family in StarClan." Her voice was full of wisdom. "We care for all the Clan cats, whether they believe in us or not."

_What?_ Maplewhisper thought with a shocked expression, _There can't possibly be any Clan cats who don't believe in StarClan! … Can there?_

But before she could ask her mother any more questions, she noticed with a pang, that the she-cat was already fading into nothingness.

"No, don't leave me alone! Mother, please! I have so many questions! Stay please, mother!" But Maplewhisper's prayers were not heard. "MOTHER!"

"Take care of yourself, Maplewhisper," Nativeleaf's voice filled her ears, "And tell your brother that I am very proud. I am proud of both of you, my dear kits."

"Mother, come back! Mother!"

Only the howling wind answered her plea, though she could not understand its words. The world around her blackened and she was jolted out of her dream, feeling as if she had fallen on the ground, yet her body was stiff due to the lack of movement. Panting she tried to catch her breath, she felt as if she had been chased through both territories. Rising to her feet, she arched her back and stretched, her muscles flexing under her thick white pelt. A quick glance to the side revealed her that Ravenwing was still asleep, still communicating with StarClan in a dream of her own.

She sighed. What had her mother mean? Were there really cats among them who did not believe in StarClan's existence? Who did not see their ancestors watching them whenever they looked into the sky and at the stars? Maplewhisper could not imagine a life without StarClan's guidance. She always knew that her paws would guide her to the medicine den. Even when she was a small kit in the nursery, she already knew that, knew that she would spend her days serving her clan and communicating with StarClan. How could there possibly be any cats who did not believe in them?

Her jaws parted in an enormous yawn and she spotted Ravenwing stirring, waking up, although the small black she-cat looked as if she had seen hell.

"What's the matter?" Maplewhisper asked, her voice low and full of worry.

Slowly, Ravenwing turned around, her brown eyes wide with horror. Her jaws parted, but she remained silent for the moment. Then she took a deep breath, but she said something Maplewhisper had not expected, "Watch out!"

Maplewhisper froze, the fur on her spine bristling as if someone had trickled icy water on her spine. Hot breath brushed against her fur from behind and when she snapped her head around, Maplewhisper stared into two black eyes.

* * *

Spottedkit is Vietnam, Blackkit is Thailand, and Brindlekit is Macau.

Uh-oh, that doesn't look all to good for those poor medicine cats! Will they escape or will they be lost?

Hasta la pasta~!


	13. Chapter Eleven

Whew! Finally got a new chapter of Warritalia done!

Thanks for the reviews, guys! =D

Enjoy and R&R please!

Oh, wait, btw, guys! I started doing a comic of this fanfiction! You can find the first page here: www dot arshis dot deviantart dot com/ art/ Warritalia-I-Prologue-Page-1-372365971

* * *

Vinepaw groaned, as a paw nudged her.

"Come on, it's time to go."

Slowly she opened one bleary eye to see the pale silhouette of Icepaw standing in front of her, his eyes full of annoyance and tiredness. The sun had barely risen and Tomatopaw and Snowpaw were still fast asleep.

Sighing Vinepaw rose to her paws. Dawn patrols … oh, how she hated them! Always had to get up so horribly early, walking around in the darkness, nothing really happening. How she longed to sleep just a little longer! Why couldn't either Snowpaw or Tomatopaw be on patrol instead of her? She was already on patrol the day before yesterday. Why did she have to join the patrol this time again?

"Hurry!" Nightstar's impatient yowl resounded from outside the din and Vinepaw darted out of the den, accidentally stepping right on Tomatopaw's tail.

Her sister let out a shriek. "Watch where you're going, mouse-brain!" She growled.

Snowpaw raised her head, her blue eyes full of annoyance. "Can't a get get some sleep here?" She mumbled, her tail-tip twitching.

"Sorry!" Vinepaw quickly muttered, as she left the den. Bright light blinded her for a heartbeat, until her eyes got adjusted to the light of the rising sun. She was surprised to see how light it actually was, it seemed to be so early, yet it was quite light.

Looking around the clearing she saw that Passionpool was happily chattering with Frostclaw, the two toms were laughing and talking about something Vinepaw was too far away to understand. Her mother stepped out of the warriors' den, followed by Sunblaze. The other cats seemed to sleep and Vinepaw couldn't help but feel jealous. Nightstar and Dawnpelt were standing about two tail-lengths away from the apprentices' den, both waiting for her and Icepaw. Frostclaw joined them.

"Can we go now?" Dawnpelt asked, his paws kneading the ground.

Casting one glance at the cats around him, the dark gray tom nodded and set off, the others following him. Above them was a light blue sky without even a single cloud.

"Does anyone know if Ravenwing is back already?" Nightstar asked.

"I haven't seen her," Dawnpelt admitted.

Frostclaw opened his jaws in a yawn. "Me neither."

Both Icepaw and Vinepaw shook their heads. Vinepaw could hear Nightstar sigh, but he remained silent, although he looked as if he wanted to say something.

The forest was filled with the cheerful singing of some birds, the sun cast patches of light onto the ground, an interesting pattern due to the canopy of the giant trees which blocked most of the sight of the sky. There were sounds everywhere. Prey, leaves whistling in the wind, birds singing, the murmur of the nearby river. It was hot and there was bound to be much prey, or so the older warriors always said whenever they were talking about Greenleaf. Vinepaw really liked this season, because she adored the heat. The hot feeling of the sun on her pelt and the warm air.

The patrol checked the border, renewing the scent markers. The scent markers from AlliesClan were where they should be, apparently no cat from either Clan had crossed the border since quite some time.

They began trotting back. Vinepaw enjoyed the warmth, letting out a sigh of relief. It was so peaceful at that moment and it was great not to having to worry about fights with the other Clan or that mysterious dog.

Vinepaw heard scraping and raised her head to taste the warm summer air. Then she spotted movement among some bracken. She knew they were a border patrol and normally wouldn't hunt, but the prey was so close and it'd be a waste to just let it go!

After exchanging a long glance with Nightstar, Frostclaw nodded and Vinepaw immediately dropped into the hunter's crouch. Careful not to let her tail brush against the grass she slowly crept forward, keeping a close eye on her prey. Her whiskers twitched. The vole raised its head and tasted the air, alarmed. Vinepaw waited until the vole was busy searching food again. While it nibbled on a corn, the cream-and-brown she-cat released all the power she had gathered in her hind legs and flung herself at her prey.

Quickly the vole scrambled away, but it was too slow. Vinepaw had already pinned it down and killed it with a swift bite in the neck.

When she looked up, she was Nightstar looking at her, his face stern but with an approving nod.

Doing her best to suppress a purr she picked the vole up and trotted home with the others, pride swelling up inside her. Nightstar had seen her catching that vole perfectly!

* * *

They arrived in the camp, but it wasn't as they had expected it. Every cat was awake already, their tails lashing and pelts bristling. Frightened murmurs and angry yowls filled the clearing, the tension in the air made Vinepaw's fur prickle uneasily. Several cats clustered around something, standing so close to each other that Vinepaw couldn't see what was among them.

Nightstar cleared his throat and the alarmed cats turned round to face him.

Vinepaw froze. In the middle of the cats lay a black-and-white hump of fur. Ravenwing. Her eyes were closed and her mouth slightly parted. Blood was trickling out of the deep wound on her flank, she seemed to barely breathe anymore.

Nightstar's eyes blazed with fury, but Vinepaw could also see the worry that clouded his light blue eyes.

"What happened?"

Vinepaw noticed her father stepping forward, his blue-gray fur shining in the sunshine.

"While you were on patrol, Nightstar, Ravenwing dragged herself back to camp," Brightsong began to explain, "She said, she and Maplewhisper had been attacked by that dog, while they were at the Moonpool. It seemed to have appeared out of thin air."

Vinepaw drew in a sharp breath. They had been attacked? _How could that happen? The dog is somewhere out there, yes, but will we encounter it everywhere all the time?_

"Smoketail, Batfang and I then raced over to the Moonpool to see whether the dog was still there, but there wasn't any scent of it," Sandmask threw in.

"Instead we only found AlliesClan scent. It was all over the place and certainly not just from Maplewhisper. The whole place was full of that stench," continued Batfang through gritted teeth.

Smoketail rose to his paws. "And it was fresh."

Vinepaw gulped. She knew where that conversation was heading. Did they think that they really had been attacked by AlliesClan?

Nightstar hissed and stepped toward Ravenwing. The she-cat slowly raised her head and blinked at the leader.

"Is that true?" He asked.

But before she could answer, Ravenwing lost her consciousness.

The AxisClan leader flicked his tail and Sorrelheart and Finstream dragged the unconscious she-cat to the medicine den. He watched until they had disappeared in the darkness of the den, before he jumped on one of the willow's branches, his fur bristling, followed by Frostclaw, who sat down on a lower branch and looked quite worried. His gaze was resting on Sandmask.

"Could you identify any of the scents?" He asked.

Sandmask looked up at his leader. "No, we couldn't. There were too many."

"But there definitely have been AlliesClan cats!"

"There haven't been any dog scents!"

"They must have attacked Ravenwing!"

"They are responsible!"

"But why would they do that?"

"It could have been that dog and not AlliesClan!"

Suddenly the clearing was filled with the loud voices of arguing cats. Some were shouting that it had been the dog's fault, others yelled it had been AlliesClan. Vinepaw was unsure. Why should AlliesClan attack them?

She noticed her sister walking up to her.

"What do you think about this?" she asked.

Tomatopaw's tail-tip twitched. "Dunno." Her voice sounded rather unconcerned and Vinepaw wondered why. That matter affected every cat!

"It couldn't have been AlliesClan …" she confessed, though her voice was barely more than a whisper.

Tomatopaw looked at her. "How can you be so certain?"

But she could only shook her head. "I don't know. I just feel it."

Nightstar's yowl cut through the argues like a claw through a leaf. "Be quiet! We will not attack anyone!" He growled, "But I will lead a patrol to speak with Eaglestar and let him tell me his side of the story."

"You're making a big mistake, Nightstar!" Dawnpelt growled, followed by several other cats. "This is exactly what they are waiting for! They want us to come and then turn us all into fresh-kill, those crow-food eating fox-hearts!"

Frostclaw darted forward and nudged him back. "Don't speak with your leader like that!" he hissed.

Dawnpelt rose to his paws and bristled, looking twice his size, while hissing at the white tom. Frostclaw unsheathed his claws and took a step toward him. Their tails were lashing and in their eyes burnt the fire of battle.

Vinepaw's heart beat fast against her ribcage. They couldn't just start fighting! They're clanmates! She threw her head around to see Nightstar thrusting between the two hissing toms.

"See what this trouble and all those accusations are leading to? We are starting to fight with each other!" He glanced at both of them, before addressing the Clan again, "Whatever had happened, whether it had been that dog or AlliesClan, we mustn't start fighting among ourselves! We are one Clan and one crisis will not break the bond that binds us together! We will fight if we have to, but we won't if there's no need to! However, Ravenwing's injuries will not be unavenged! We will show her attacker that they cannot do as they please!"

Other cats started falling in with yowls of approval. The tension seemed to ebb away as Frostclaw and Dawnpelt just stared at each other once more before sitting down again, pelts lying flat.

"I will lead the patrol tomorrow. Frostclaw, I want you to stay here in case of an attack."

Frostclaw nodded. "I will protect the Clan with my life," he vowed solemnly.

"Brightsong, Passionpool, Sandmask, Sorrelheart, Dawnpelt and Icepaw, you will come with me. The rest will stay here and guard the camp," Nightstar announced and nodded at each cat he listed, "We will set off tomorrow morning at sunrise. Go to bed early and eat well, we don't know what we will face there."

The cats broke apart and discussed in smaller groups what they had just heard. Vinepaw noticed each of the listed cats that would go to AlliesClan the following day were heading to the fresh-kill pile, while Frostclaw followed Nightstar to his den. Most of the tension was gone, but a tiny bit remained, worry mixed with anticipation and foreboding. The cream-and-brown she-cat trotted over to the fallen tree where several other cats were already gathering. She spotted her sister, the other two apprentices Snowpaw and Icepaw, as well as Passionpool, Sandmask, Mudstep and her parents. As she drew closer, she could catch more and more words. Apparently they were discussing the current situation as well.

"It can't be the right thing," she heard Snowpaw mutter.

"But we can't let them get away!" Sandmask growled.

"We don't know if they _are_ responsible. It could have been that dog and not them," Sorrelheart explained with a flick of her tail.

"It's stupid to accuse someone even though you don't know whether they are guilty or not," Mudstep added and immediately earned a glare from Sandmask.

"Oh yeah?! Say that to me directly and I will scratch your face, fox-dung!"

"Stop fighting at once! That won't get us anywhere," Brightsong exclaimed, "We just have to wait and see. Tomorrow we will know more and hopefully it will only be good news."

* * *

Vinepaw jolted awake as she felt a stabbing pain in her tail. She threw her head around to see two cats emerging from the den.

"Sorry," she heard someone mutter.

_Icepaw and Snowpaw … I wonder where they are going? It's still so early …_

Yawning she stretched herself, her muscles flexing, before resting her chin on her forepaws. She was lying close to the entrance and could listen to the apprentices' chat, when she strained her ears.

"Be careful," she heard Snowpaw mutter.

Icepaw grumbled, "Please, I'm not a kit anymore. Don't treat me as if I were one. I can look after myself and for StarClan's sake I know how to wash myself!"

Snowpaw snickered. "Is it wrong for me to take care of my brother?"

"No, it's not. It's just I'm not …" His voice trailed off, as the two cats seemed to walk away from the den.

Vinepaw's tail lashed. She wanted to listen to her conversation, but now it would seem strange if she just followed them. Instead, she closed her eyes again and tried to sleep. It was still early and it wouldn't hurt to catch some more sleep before having to get up. Tomatopaw was also still sleeping, so why should she not just go back to sleep? She wasn't part of the patrol, after all. She didn't have to get up as early as some of her clanmates.

"Hey, wake up, Vinepaw!"

Vinepaw groaned and opened one bleary eye. She felt as though she had only closed her eyes for a heartbeat, before the voice woke her up.

"Vinepaw!"

"Coming," she murmured, while stretching and staggering out of the den and right into the blinding white light. A warm breeze welcomed her and she breathed in the fresh scents of Newleaf. Outside she spotted Finstream running around wildly, from the medicine den to Frostclaw who sat on a branch of the ancient willow and back, and then to the warriors' den and back to the medicine den again. The poor she-cat, now that Ravenwing wasn't able to do anything, she had to do everything and she wasn't even a medicine cat in the first place!

Then she saw Smoketail trotting toward her. Snowpaw tagged behind him.

"Hey, are you up for some hunting?" asked Snowpaw.

Vinepaw's face lit up. "Yes, please!"

"Until Mousefoot is feeling better, I have been asked by Nightstar to take care of your training so that you don't fall behind," Smoketail explained, but Vinepaw only heard half of his words. She was shivering slightly. That gaze … It was like he was staring right through her. Creepy! All she could do was nod, then quickly avert the gaze. It wasn't like she didn't like Smoketail, she was just scared and felt crushed by that aura of intimidation which surrounded him.

The three cats left the camp after quickly talking to Frostclaw and informing him where they were going.

"So, where do you think should we try to hunt, Vinepaw?" asked Smoketail while eying her.

Vinepaw stopped and began to think. There was a good place of hunting deeper in the forest. They could go there, but it was close to where recent dog scents were found, so it was dangerous. But then again, the dog could be everywhere. The scent of a robin hit her nostrils and she breathed it in to determine where it came from. It definitely came from deeper within the forest.

"Go deeper into the woods and look for prey there?" she suggested, "There's a robin scent coming from there."

Smoketail tasted the air and nodded approvingly. "Good, then lead the way," he told her.

Vinepaw swallowed. She'd be the head of the patrol? Taking a deep breath she simply followed the prey scent and kept her eyes open. She couldn't mess this up, she had to show that she knew what to do and Mousefoot's training had not been in vain.

Suddenly she spotted a tiny creature sitting on a tree root. It was the robin she had scented! The tiny bird knocked a nut against the root and didn't seem to notice the cats.

Vinepaw tasted the air. The wind came from the bird's direction and it wouldn't give her away. Out of the corner of her eye she looked at Smoketail who simply nodded, apparently waiting for her to catch it. She had found it after all. She dropped into the hunter's crouch and quietly crept forward, doing her best to keep as low and quiet as possible. Her tail didn't brush the leaves on the ground, her steps were silent. The bird was still busy. At once she leaped and threw herself at the bird. Screeching it flapped its wings and tried to fly away, too late however. Vinepaw had caught it and quickly killed it with a swift bite in the neck.

"Well done," Snowpaw praised and Smoketail groaned in agreement.

Vinepaw puffed her chest and hid the robin under leaves and put some dirt on it, so she could collect it and bring it back to camp later.

They continued to walk deeper and had caught two shrews and a wood pigeon, when Smoketail suggested they'd split up. He mumbled something watching them and turning this into an assessment.

Vinepaw and Snowpaw should each hunt alone and catch as much as possible. The white she-cat darted off, taking the route that would lead to the stream. Vinepaw tasted the air. There was only fresh prey scent from where Snowpaw was heading. Surely she couldn't hunt at the same spot? She could head into that direction though and then go a different route than her. Yes, she would do that.

Sunlight sparkled through the canopy, the sun throwing patches of light onto the earth. Birdsong filled the forest and the whole forest seemed to wake up after the long time of Leaf-bare. She hadn't encountered the cold and cruel season of Leaf-bare yet, but from what she had heard it was horrible.

Suddenly she spotted movement among the ferns and she narrowed her eyes. There was a vole. Slowly she crept toward it and prepared to jump, but she accidentally stepped on a twig and the vole was alerted. Though she did her best to catch it, the vole was too fast and managed to escape her. Disappointed she stared after it and sighed.

_Mouse-brain_, she scolded herself, _that was the first thing Mousefoot taught me. Always watch where you're putting your paws._

Worry began to flood her once more as she thought about her mentor. Finstream was busy taking care of her and Ravenwing, and there were still no good news. She couldn't tell whether both would survive or not.

_But we can't lose them! They have to survive!_ Vinepaw despairingly thought, _Mousefoot's my mentor and Ravenwing is our medicine cat._

A yowl cut through the air and ripped her out of her thoughts. That was Snowpaw! What if she had encountered that dog?!

As fast as she could Vinepaw darted off, following Snowpaw's scent. Her paws were barely touching the ground and she seemed to almost hover over the ground. Horrible images filled her mind, but she tried to push them away. There was no use worrying if there might not be any problem at all.

Then she finally caught sight of the fluffy white she-cat. She was standing, her pelt bristling and her tail lashing. Vinepaw skipped to a halt. There was someone standing in front of her. A large cat with a long, white pelt. There were light gray patches all across his pelt and his bluish-violet eyes were shining as he looked at Snowpaw. Warmth glowed in his eyes.

"Think about it, Snow," purred the strange tom, his voice deep and dripping with honey.

Snowpaw bared her teeth. "Never. Just go and stay away!" she snapped.

Vinepaw tilted her head. They definitely seemed to know each other. The bushes behind her rustled and she turned her head to see Smoketail emerging, his face as unreadable as ever. A deep growl rose in his throat as he faced the tom.

"What are _you_ doing here?!"

The tom grinned. "Long time no see, Smoketail. You are doing well, I suppose?" He sighed and then looked at Snowpaw. "I'm just here to retrieve what is rightfully mine."

Vinepaw shivered at the tone in his voice and that look in his eyes as he was eying the white she-cat whose eyes widened in horror for a heartbeat, before she shook it off and simply hissed at him.

"Snowpaw, Vinepaw, we're going back to camp," Smoketail ordered, still keeping his eyes on that mysterious tom, "And you stay away from us. You have no right to be here anymore."

Smoketail and Snowpaw walked past Vinepaw without glancing at the tom anymore. She threw one last glance at the tom before following them. Just what was going on? Who was that tom and why in StarClan's name did he know Smoketail and Snowpaw?

The three cats retrieved the prey they had caught and headed straight to camp. Smoketail walked over to Frostclaw and told him about the encounter. Vinepaw and Snowpaw dropped their prey on the fresh-kill pile.

"Um, Snowpaw?" Vinepaw tried to get the distracted she-cat's attention.

Snowpaw raised her head to look at her, but her gaze was unfocused and she seemed to stare at something that only she could see.

"Who was that tom?" She carefully asked.

For a heartbeat she thought the she-cat would scratch her face, but she only shook her head. "No one. It's not important. Don't worry about it," she murmured.

"But something's wrong! I can see it!"

Snowpaw blinked at her. "You are a good cat, Vinepaw, but you worry too much. Don't take every cat's worries on your shoulders." She padded off to the apprentices' den, tail drooping. Vinepaw couldn't just leave it at that and followed her.

"Wait, Snowpaw!"

She squeezed through the entrance and found the she-cat lying in her nest. A soft growl escaped her.

"Haven't you heard me?"

"It's no use keeping it to yourself! You need to talk to someone about your worries and problems! If you don't do that, then you will only worsen it!"

A sigh escaped Snowpaw. "Alright, you win. Are you satisfied now?" She sat up and motioned with her tail that Vinepaw should sit down as well. "Just forget about that tom. There'll be no need to think about him any longer if he just stays away. What troubles me is Icepaw," she confessed.

Vinepaw tilted her head. She didn't understand.

"He should be a warrior already. He didn't mess up his assessment. No, he did perfectly fine, but he refused to become a warrior already and told me he'd wait until I passed my assessment, as well." She laughed softly, though it was without any emotions. "That mouse-brain."

"He refused to become a warrior? Of his own free will?"

Snowpaw nodded. "Yes, he said he didn't want to become a warrior if we could not become warriors at the same time. He said he'd wait as long as it'd take. It makes me sick. He should not have to wait any longer. He deserves it so much and yet he refuses."

Vinepaw touched her flank with her tail-tip gently. "But it only shows that he loves you and that he wants to spend this special moment together with you," she told her.

"No! No! It can't be true!"

Vinepaw sprang to her paws and darted out of the den, closely followed by Snowpaw. The two she-cats emerged and looked around, several cats were gathering. They exchanged a confused look, until they saw Batfang staggering out of the den, yowling and wailing like a kit.

"It can't be true!" he cried.

Frostclaw ran toward him. "What's the matter?" he asked, but the ginger tom didn't answer him. "Batfang!"

Finstream joined them and sighed deeply. "Mousefoot has gone to hunt with our ancestors now."

* * *

Uh-oh! Tension among the Clans is rising even more and the first cat died! To be honest, it was really hard to just kill off someone. How am I going to do that in later chapters as well? D: It's certainly not easy!

What is Eaglestar going to tell the AxisClan patrol in the next chapter? And who is that mysterious rogue Snowpaw and Vinepaw had come across? That cat will play a big role later, so much I can tell you now without spoiling too much!

Thanks for reading! Hasta la pasta!


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